Taiwan signed an open skies agreement with Japan Nov. 10. As a result of frequent tourism and business exchanges between the two countries, this pact is expected to further expand visitor numbers, resulting in a win-win situation.
Both nations have agreed to execute the agreement in two phases. The first phase is to open nonrestricted route destinations: All of the destinations—except Tokyo and beyond—are open without limitation on the number of airlines and flights. The second phase is to open Tokyo as a restricted destination, gradually increasing the number of flights.
It is expected the pact will boost the number of visitors moving between Taiwan and Japan by 10 percent each year. This will surely promote bilateral exchanges and boost tourism.
To implement ROC President Ma Ying-jeou’s policy of turning Taiwan into Northeast Asia’s golden flight circuit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Transportation and Communications recently negotiated with South Korea to open a direct route between Taipei Songshan and Seoul Gimpo airports. They also reached consensus on passenger capacity for the existing route between Taoyuan and Incheon international airports.
Both parties agree that from the end of March 2012, designated airlines can use 200-seater aircraft for the Songshan-Gimpo route with seven flights a week. In addition, the weekly passenger capacity of Taoyuan-Incheon services will increase by 22 percent.
According to the Tourism Bureau, last year 217,000 people came to Taiwan from South Korea while 380,000 people went to South Korea from Taiwan. For the first 10 months of this year, 200,000 tourists from South Korea visited Taiwan, a year-on-year increase of 12.4 percent.
As both Songshan and Gimpo airports are located near their respective city centers, it is estimated that from March next year, passengers can slash nearly 90 minutes off their total journey time.
Moreover, the increase in passenger capacity between Taiwan and South Korea solves capacity issues during peak season and also makes lowering ticket prices possible. Furthermore, it can further promote tourism and cultural exchanges between Taiwan and South Korea.
The ROC government’s domestic tourism goal is to welcome 6 million tourists per year. The latest agreements with Japan and South Korea will deliver on this goal and help bolster relations between these three countries—a win-win-win situation for the foreseeable future.
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