3,378,000 Visitors to Taiwan in 2005 Sets New Record

This article was provided by the Tourism Bureau in Taiwan.

In recent years, the government in Taiwan has committed to improving the quality of travel and leisure in order to attract international visitors. Official statistics show that in 2005, a total of 3,378,000 visits were by international travelers. The figure was not only higher than the goal of 3,250,000 visits set at the beginning of that year, but also a new record. It also represented an impressive 14.5% growth rate when compared to the previous year.

All major sources of customers increased as well, with Singapore showing the greatest increase at 42.17%, Japan the next largest at 26.71%, and South Korea in third place with 23.24%.

In total, 1,380,000 international visitors marked "Tourism" as their reason for coming to Taiwan. This represented an increase of 33.92% in tourist numbers when compared to the previous year, and made up 40.90% of total in-bound numbers. The next largest increase was in the "Conference" category with a 13.92% growth, followed by "Study" with 3.73% and "Business" with 2.62%.

In 2006, the Tourism Bureau will continue its efforts to attract international visitors to Taiwan. More specifically, the bureau will focus on promoting the "Tourism Flagship Plan", which highlights 8 flagship destinations, 4 major features, 5 main themed activities, and new topical tourism destinations.

The 8 flagship destinations are: Taipei 101 skyscraper, National Palace Museum, Kaohsiung City's Love River, Yushan National Park, Alishan (Mt Ali), Sun-Moon Lake, Taroko Gorge, and the Kenting (Kending) peninsula.

The 4 major features are Taiwan's cuisine, night markets, friendliness, and the round-the-clock tourism environment.

The 5 major themed activities include Taiwan's Lantern Festivals, religious events (such as the Matzu Cultural Festival), Hakka festivals (such as Hakka cuisine and the Hakka Yimin Festival), Aboriginal festivals (such as the Divine Tree Festival and the Sailfish Festival), and special craft-related events (such as the Sanyi Wood Carving Festival and the Yingge International Ceramics Festival).

Other new topical events in Taiwan in 2006 include the "Taiwan International Youth Travel Year", a special exhibition commemorating the 80th anniversary of the National Palace Museum's establishment, the opening of the Taipei-Yilan Expressway, and the inauguration of the Taiwan High Speed Railway. It is expected that these events will create fresh attractions for Taiwan's international tourism industry.

The Tourism Bureau has set its goal to achieve 3,750,000 visits by international travelers to Taiwan in 2006.