Taiwan experienced significant growth in transportation and tourism in 2016, registering record highs in many key sectors, according to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications Feb. 21.
Continuous government efforts in enhancing the country’s transportation infrastructure and promoting international tourism are the main reason for the positive results, according to the MOTC.
The ministry said passenger numbers on national and municipal rail services rose 2.5 percent to a record 2.98 million per day. The Taipei and Kaohsiung metro lines accounted for the bulk of the ridership at 2.02 million and 172,000, respectively. Both numbers are historic highs.
Daily traffic on the Taiwan High Speed Rail, which last year added four new stations, reached a record average of 155,000 passengers, up 11.6 percent from the previous year. Passenger volume has surged 260.47 percent since the THSR commenced operations in 2007.
While the number of travelers passing through the country’s major sea ports dropped 9 percent to 1.23 million in 2016, those taking part in international services chalked up an increase of 10.5 percent to 737,000, also the highest in history.
In particular, the Port of Keelung hosted 439 international cruise ship calls and serviced 663,000 passengers, an increase of around 18 percent in both cases. The northeastern port accounted for nearly 90 percent of the national total.
With regard to air transport, 63.25 million people utilized the country’s airports last year, rising 8.8 percent to reach a new high. Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in northern Taiwan’s Taoyuan City accounted for the lion’s share with 42.3 million passengers, up 9.9 percent.
Traveler numbers on international flights grew 12.6 percent to a best-ever 40.72 million, with Japan the leading destination and origin and comprising 29.36 percent of the total. Passengers flying to and from Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam all topped 1 million.
According to the MOTC, 10.69 million visitors traveled to Taiwan in 2016, a rise of 2.4 percent and the highest figure on record.
Mainland China and Japan as well as Hong Kong/Macau remained the top three sources of visitors, while the numbers from 14 other countries, including five Southeast Asian nations, South Korea and the U.S., reached their highest-ever levels. (SFC-E)
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