Economy

Taiwan, Japan work to bolster bilateral tourism

Representatives from Taiwan and Japan pose at the 5th Taiwan-Japan Tourism Summit Forum in Hualien County July 6. (Courtesy of Tourism Bureau)

• Publication Date：07/09/2012
• Source： Taiwan Today
• By  Grace Kuo

Taiwan and Japan have agreed to extend their Tourism Promotion Year campaign from 2012 to 2013, with the aim of boosting the quality and quantity of bilateral tourism exchanges, according to the ROC Ministry of Transportation and Communications.

The MOTC made the announcement at the annual Taiwan-Japan Tourism Summit Forum held in eastern Taiwan’s Hualien County July 6.

During the event, MOTC’s Tourism Bureau introduced themed tours and activities such as the Taiwan Culinary Exhibition, Taiwan Cycling Festival, and Taiwan Shopping Festival, to attract Japanese visitors, while Tokyo Disneyland proposed to strengthen foreign language support for its facilities and enrich its services to draw more Taiwanese tourists.

“Our latest statistics showed that Japanese tourists to Taiwan reached 1.29 million in 2011, up 19.87 percent from 2010, while 1.14 million Taiwanese sightseers visited Japan during the same year,” said MOTC Minister Mao Chi-kuo, stressing there is a high possibility that the number of bilateral visits will reach 3 million this year.

“The two sides have reached a consensus to strengthen tourism exchanges among the people through existing air routes as well as newly developed ones,” the MOTC added. “We will also enhance exchanges on educational travels and tourism information.”

Now in its fifth year, the forum saw heavyweight participants such as Mitomo Matano, vice commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency, Yusuke Sami, deputy representative of the Japan Interchange Association, and Eikei Suzuki, governor of Japan’s Mie prefecture, the MOTC said.

The agency added that the 2013 Taiwan-Japan Tourism Summit Forum will be staged in Japan’s Mie prefecture. (HZW)

Write to Grace Kuo at mlkuo@mofa.gov.tw