Taiwan's tourism sector urges steps to attract mainland tourists

Taiwan should take steps to boost the gloomy tourism industry after the number of mainland visitors travelling to the island during the National Day holiday declined, Taiwan's China Times newspaper reported.

A group representing the industry visited the Chiayi City Council on Friday to plead to the authorities to take measures to boost the sector and change the cross-Straits stalemate since Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen took office in May.

Taiwan Travel Agent Association honorary chairman Hsiao Bo-jen said that only 756 mainland tourists visited the island on Oct 5, whereas the figure exceeded 10,000 a day in the past.

Hsiao said some restaurants had to temporarily shut down and told workers to go on unpaid leave in Chiayi. The city government should at least have plans to expand the domestic demand, he said.

Hsiao Shu-li, speaker of Chiayi City Council, proposed that the city government should probe solutions and file report on how to revive the industry to the Tsai's authorities. Out of 24 council members, 21 signed the proposal.

The speaker said that according to the statistics from Taiwan tourism authority, 249,000 mainland tourists visited Taiwan in August, down 32.41 percent from the same month last year, while group tourists fell 54.96 percent.

Though tourists from South Korea and Japan increased in the month, the total number of tourists still dropped by 3.44 percent, the first time Taiwan saw a decline in August since 2004, Hsiao Shu-li said.

Chang Hsiu-hua, a council member, said that tourism sector needed tourists not financial assistance from Tsai's authorities, and a positive solution is to attract mainland visitors to Taiwan.

Data from Taiwan authorities showed that there were some 3,000 mainland tourists on Oct 5, and 4,000 to 5,000 every day during the National Day holiday this year, the lowest since 2008 when the island opened up to mainland travelers. It was around 8,000 mainland tourists every day in the same period in the past.