We’re kind of back to NORMAL…and with that comes a return to long-distance travel. Rising airfares are making long journeys quite difficult for some…but some places are doing what they can to encourage tourists and boost their economies.
Taiwan is the latest country to offer a travel incentive. They are planning to offer tourists $165 each to vacation there. Cash rewards are also being offered to tour groups as well…with up to $658 being offered to 90,000 tour groups.
Wang Kuo-tsai, Taiwan’s Transport Minister, said that the cash incentives will be offered digitally…and tourists can use it to cover travel expenses while in Taiwan, including accommodations. These measures are aimed at attracting more visitors from Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, as well as Europe and the United States.
Taiwan’s Premier Chen Chien-jen said that the government hopes to attraction SIX million tourists this year…and DOUBLE that figure in 2024. Around 900,000 people visited Taiwan in 2022, which included visitors from Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan and the US. These numbers are DOWN from 2019 when 11.8 million international tourists visited Taiwan.
And while this all seems interesting and exciting…don’t book your travel JUST yet. The Taiwanese government still hasn’t announced when this will start or how to apply for this incentive.