Taiwan tourism revenue soars to new high in Q2

Taipei: Japanese and Chinese tourists emerged as the biggest spenders in Taiwan during the second quarter of the year, official data indicates.

Tourism in the country revenue reached a record of $3.96 billion in the second quarter of the year, according to the central bank.

Bank officials attributed the new quarterly high mainly to a large growth in tourist arrivals and an increase in spending by visitors, the Central News Agency (CAN) reported.

Among foreign visitors to Taiwan, Japanese tourists are the biggest spenders, averaging $219.35 per capita per day, followed by Chinese tourists with $211.68, the officials said.

In the period April to June, the number of tourist arrivals from China increased 44.2 percent year-on-year, those from Hong Kong/Macau grew 20.4 percent, and those from Japan 14.5 percent, the officials said.

Arrivals from South Korea increased 10 percent, while those from Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand showed two-digit growth, according to the bank officials.

However, there is concern that China’s recent ban on independent visits by residents of 47 cities to Taiwan would adversely affect Taiwan’s tourism in the fourth quarter, the central bank officials said, the news agency added.

The bank also released second-quarter data that showed a current account surplus of $7.56 billion, a $13.7 billion increase in its financial account assets, and an increase of $2.45 billion in its reserve account.