Taiwan's Forex Income from Tourism Hits Record High of US$12.3B. in 2013
2014/07/30 | By Judy LiTaiwan recorded a total of 8.02 million visitor arrivals in 2013, up 9.7% from the year before. During their stays on the island the visitors spent a total of US$12.322 billion, or about NT$369.66 billion, an increase of 4.7% and the highest amount ever recorded, according to statistics released by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau.
Of the total visitor arrivals, 2.87 million were Chinese mainlanders (up 11.2%), who contributed US$5.531 billion to Taiwan's forex income; arriving Japanese numbered 1.42 million (down 0.8%) and produced US$1.818 billion (about NT$54.54 billion) in forex income for the island.
Last year the per capita daily spending of mainland Chinese visitors in Taiwan fell 2.1% from the previous year to US$259.64 (about NT$7,789.2) and that of Japanese travelers stood at US$265.28 (about NT$7,958.4), a drop of 14.1% and the lowest since 2009. Both Chinese and Japanese spent more than the average for all visitors to Taiwan, which at US$224.07 (approximately NT$6,722.1) was also down 4.4%.
A survey recently conducted by the Tourism Bureau shows that the top five factors attracting foreign visitors to Taiwan are, in descending order, scenery, food, shopping, folk customs, and traditional culture. Fruit is among the top-10 attractions for visitors.
Of the 6,034 inbound visitors participating in the survey, 28.8% named Jiufen, a charming hill township in northeast Taiwan, as the most attractive sightseeing spot on the island; 22.1% listed Sun Moon Lake for that honor, and 18.8% listed Taroko National Park.
However, Taiwan's night markets are most visited by foreign visitors--76.95 visitors out of every 100 go there--followed by Taipei 101 Tower and National Palace Museum 57.41 and 47.63, respectively, out of every 100. (JL)
| Basic Facts on Taiwan's Visitor Arrivals in 2013 | ||
| Item
| Volume & value
| Annual growth (%)
|
| No. of visitor arrivals
| 8.02 million
| 9.7
|
| Forex income generated by inbound visitors
| US$12.322 billion
| 4.7
|
| Average per capita daily spending
| US$224.07
| -4.4
|
| Average length of stay
| 6.86 days
| -0.01 day
|
| Per Capita Daily Spending of Taiwan's Visitor Arrivals from Top 5 Sources in 2013
| ||
| Source
| Per capita daily spending (US$)
| Annual growth (%)
|
| Japan
| 265.28
| -14.1
|
| Mainland China
| 259.64
| -2.1
|
| Australia & New Zealand
| 209.89
| 17.9
|
| Singapore
| 197.38
| 2.9
|
| U.S.
| 196.14
| 15.8
|