Taiwan is planning various cash incentives to boost inbound travel, which has yet to take off since strict border controls for COVID-19 were lifted in October 2022.
The Tourism Bureau said Thursday it plans to hand out 500,000 vouchers worth NT$5,000 (US$165) to foreign tourists visiting Taiwan independently rather than as part of a tour group, as long as they meet certain criteria.
The vouchers will likely be distributed through promotional tourism campaigns rather than on a “first come, first served” basis, said bureau chief Chang Shi-chung (???).
The specifics of the initiative are still being discussed, but one concept under consideration is for tourists to get the vouchers automatically or via lottery after purchasing air tickets from a Taiwanese carrier the bureau partners with, the bureau said.
After they arrive Taiwan, visitors will be able to use the funds — which will very likely take the form of a stored-value card or similar payment device — for shopping, accommodation, transportation and dining, according to the bureau.
The bureau said it will also award travel agencies NT$10,000 for every inbound tour group of 8-14 travelers it attracts to Taiwan and NT$20,000 for larger groups, with up to 90,000 tour groups set to receive money.
The incentives would be part of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ goal of attracting 6 million foreign visitor arrivals in 2023, according to Minister Wang Kwo-tsai (???).
Beyond those direct subsidies to draw overseas visitors, the bureau also plans to subsidize employers in the hospitality sector who hire additional service staff or janitors with a monthly salary that meets a certain level.
Proposed subsidies to hospitality sector
Under the plan, employers in Hsinchu City and County, Taoyuan, Taipei, New Taipei and Keelung would be given NT$5,000 per worker if they hire new recruits for at least NT$33,000 per month, while the minimum for employers in other areas would be NT$31,000 per month.
If this plan is carried out, the employer subsidies will last for a year, the bureau said.
The measure, designed to help the hospitality overcome a severe manpower shortage, has been previously criticized by companies in the sector who argue that the shortage has less to do with pay levels and more to do with a lack of people available to fill vacancies.
Funds for the overall program could come from a special budget request, pending the review of lawmakers, after the Legislature passed a special bill earlier this week to allocate NT$380 billion from the tax surplus to stimulating the economy.
The bill, which included a provision to issue a payment of NT$6,000 to all citizens and permanent residents, also allows the NT$380 billion budget to be used to attract international tourists and subsidize housing-related policies, public transportation costs, and social welfare policies targeting vulnerable groups.
In the three years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan averaged about 11.2 million overseas visitors per year, but those numbers plummeted to about 1.38 million in 2020, 141,000 in 2021 and 895,000 in 2022, including 302,100 in December 2022.
The numbers fell in January 2023 to about 8,000 per day, but have risen again to about 12,000 per day so far in February, though still far short of the 6 million a year goal.
While it is unclear if the incentives will work, local travel agents said they welcomed the proposal.
Lee Chee-yuen (???), spokesman for the Travel Quality Assurance Association, said he expected each NT$5,000 stored value card to create NT$15,000-NT$25,000 in spending.
He cautioned, however, that the government needed to carefully design the way the allowance can be spent so that it benefits as many types of service operators as possible.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel