Whilst almost the whole world enjoys a massive influx of tourists from China, Taiwan has realized it has put all its eggs in one basket and wants to focus on other markets.
The feeling in Taiwan around a year ago was similar to that of the feelings of tourist organizations around the developed world. The idea was to attract as many Chinese tourists as possible so that they spend their money there.
This seemed even more logical in the case of Taiwan as the Chinese are closer to them than anybody else. However, things have not gone exactly to the plan. Despite the fact that 5 million tourists arrived to the country last year, the Taiwanese are not particularly delighted with the Chinese input. As a result, the tourist board has started searching elsewhere for tourist income.
The free independent travel program for tourists from the mainland has led to surprisingly weak results. Most of the Chinese visitors used the program to simply visit relatives without going sightseeing and spending their money. It has been revealed that markets such as Malaysia, Thailand, Japan and South Korea have proven to be more successful.
Taiwan has a further card up its sleeve; in the shape of the ‘Golden Week’ in October, whereby the atmosphere in the cosmopolitan metropolis of Taipei is something to behold. It is possible that a record number of tourists will visit the country during this event, though crowds of people are not expected from the Chinese mainland.
