Direct flights between Taichung City and Ho Chi Minh City operated by Vietnamese budget airline Vietjet Air officially launched Jan. 15, marking a major milestone in the central Taiwan city’s efforts toward becoming a major gateway for international tourists.
Four round-trip flights will take place each week, with travel times averaging 3.5 hours. More than 90 passengers arrived from Vietnam on the route’s maiden voyage, with around 150 people booking seats for the plane’s return journey.
Chen Sheng-shan, director-general of the municipality’s Tourism Bureau, said at a ceremony to celebrate the launch of the direct flights that the route will help Taichung Airport become a major hub for low-cost airlines. He added that the new service is a practical implementation of the government’s New Southbound Policy, which is a central plank of President Tsai Ing-wen’s national development strategy.
Under the initiative, the government is working to deepen agriculture, business, education, tourism and trade ties between Taiwan and Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, South Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand.
The new route is Vietjet Air’s fifth to Taiwan, the first having been established in December 2014. The other four are from Taipei City to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and southern Taiwan’s Tainan and Kaohsiung cities to Ho Chi Minh City. According to Vietjet, it flies to more destinations in Taiwan than any other airline operating routes between the two countries.
The bureau has been promoting an initiative to make Taichung City the focal point of business and tourism activities in central Taiwan. The slogan “In and out through Taichung” aims to boost the municipality onto the international stage, Chen added.
According to the municipality’s Tourism Bureau, Taichung Airport saw 2.4 million passengers in 2016, an increase of approximately 85 percent compared to 2010. The central counties and cities of Changhua, Chiayi, Miaoli, Nantou, Taichung and Yunlin have a total of around 7 million residents, including new immigrants from ASEAN member states, it added.
The airline may see a significant rise in business due to the region’s population and demographics, which could also help support the development of central Taiwan’s tourism, the bureau said. (KWS-E)
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