This popular destination will reward tourists with up to Rs 13,600

Amid a surge in travel following the easing of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, countries are doing everything possible to encourage visitors to visit and boost their economies. The latest is Taiwan, which plans to offer cash or discount incentives to 500,000 tourists to holiday there this year. According to CNNWith its promotion, Taiwan is aiming to welcome six million tourists this year.

Taiwan’s Premier Chen Chien-jen announced on Thursday that the government aims to attract six million tourists in 2023, double that figure in 2024 and 10 million visitors by 2025. ShopThe government will give allowances of up to NT$5,000 ($165) to 500,000 individual tourists and up to NT$20,000 ($658) to 90,000 tour groups.

Taiwan’s Transport Minister Wang Kuo-tsai said on Wednesday that the money would be distributed digitally and that tourists would be able to use it to cover their costs in Taiwan, including accommodation. He also said the measures are aimed at attracting more visitors from key markets including Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Macao, as well as Europe and the US.

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CNN reported that Taiwan saw less than 900,000 inbound visitors last year. Visitors from Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan and the United States were among the largest groups. Notably, Taiwan lifted its border restrictions in October 2022, and was one of the last countries to do so following the pandemic.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, Hong Kong also announced it was giving away 500,000 airline tickets to global visitors in a bid to boost its Covid-hit tourism industry. According to Euronews, tickets will be released in stages from March and will be available to Europeans from May.

Last year, Dang Cheng, executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, told the BBC that free tickets purchased during the pandemic would be distributed to incoming and outgoing passengers by the city’s airport authority next year.