The announcement was made at an Executive Yuan news conference attended by officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Transportation and Communications June 15 in Taipei City.
According to the MOFA, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar will be added to the streamlined visa treatment program before Sept. 1. Citizens of these three nations are then allowed to apply online for Taiwan visas if they previously held travel visas or resident permits for Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the EU or the U.S.
Tourism Bureau Director-General David Hsieh said the number of visitors from Southeast Asia was around 1.42 million last year.“After the easing of visa restrictions is implemented for eight ASEAN nations, we expect to see an annual increase of at least 20 percent in visitor numbers from the region for 2016, generating foreign exchange earnings of NT$13 billion [US$400 million].”
The MOFA, MOTC and Ministry of the Interior jointly formulated and launched a simplified visa processing scheme Nov. 1, 2015, for preferential tourist groups from five Asian nations—India, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. Individuals from these five countries do not need to submit proof of employment and financial documents with their visa applications if they travel as part of groups organized by agencies authorized by the MOTC’s Tourism Bureau or on corporate incentive trips. In addition, the tourists can enjoy fee-free visa services. As of June 13, a total of 13,257 individuals in 662 groups had applied for Taiwan travel visas.
Another measure under consideration by the government is adding Southeast Asian countries to the visa-waiver program. Malaysia and Singapore are the only nations from the region currently included among the 46-strong list. The MOFA expects to finalize this undertaking by year-end.
The Tourism Bureau is at the forefront of government efforts to tap the economic potential of the ASEAN and India inbound tourism market. According to the Executive Yuan, a series of targeted marketing and promotional campaigns are underway in these countries to promote Taiwan’s merits as world-class travel destination. This undertaking is expected to pay handsome dividends going forward as the New Southbound Policy picks ups steam. (KH-E)
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