Taiwan targets Pinoys as top tourist market

CEBU, Philippines — The government of Taiwan, through its Taiwan Tourism Bureau, targets to have the Filipinos as their number one tourist market from Southeast Asia.

The extension of visa-free privilege for Pinoys visiting Taiwan is the number one driving factor why the Philippines is now the second largest tourist market to Taiwan, next to Malaysia, said Taiwan Tourism Bureau (Kuala Lumpur Office) director Abe Chou in his visit to Cebu Wednesday to connect with Cebu-based travel operators.

In an interview, Chou said the growth of Filipinos visiting Taiwan in the last two years, since the island nation implemented a visa-free policy, had been impressive.

Last year, there were a total of 490 thousand Pinoys who visited Taiwan, which is a whooping 40 percent increase from 2017.

Likewise, Taiwanese have also discovered the Philippines as one of their favorite vacation destinations, business and even educational hub, particularly for ESL (English as Second Language) short courses, Chou said.

The growing number of airlines connecting Taiwan to different cities in the Philippines, especially Cebu benefited both countries’ tourism sector, he added.

The Taiwan Tourism Bureau conducted its third “Taiwan Tourism Workshop” in Cebu Wednesday night at the Seda Ayala Center Cebu hotel participated by major travel agencies here.

According to Chou, his government targets to close the year with at least 500 thousand Filipinos to visit Taiwan.

Taiwan government recently announced the extension of its visa-free privilege for Filipinos, until July next year.

Chou expressed confidence that with the favorable developments, and the strong interest of Filipinos to explore the “Heart of Asia” Taiwan, the Philippines will become its number one Southeast Asian market in short term.

Its Philippine roadshow campaign, the Taiwanese tourism stakeholders promoted the #timefortaiwan hashtag, which announced the attractive packages offered by Taiwanese tourism businesses to Filipino visitors.

Taiwan is now pushing to showcase its farm tourism destinations from the south to northern part of the country, on top of its many must-see, and must-experience attractions.

Last year, the Bureau spent about US$600 thousand to market its country to the active Filipino travelers.