Tourism Bureau, Republic of China (Taiwan)-Taiwan Tourism Bureau's Taiwan Tourism Information Website

As Taiwan epidemic prevention policies relax and the pandemic situation improves, the Mainland Affairs Council announced on February 14th that starting from February 20th, Hong Kong and Macau tourists will be allowed to travel independently to Taiwan for tourism. This move is expected to become an important driver of tourism growth in Taiwan. The Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications has invited Hong Kong businesses and media representatives to visit Taiwan, with a total of 18 people coming during the 2023 Taiwan Lantern Festival, and launched related marketing and promotion plans with the theme of " Soul Taiwan, So Taiwan" to welcome Hong Kong and Macau tourists for independent travel to Taiwan.

The distance between Hong Kong and Macau and Taiwan is only a little over an hour by air, and Taiwan is one of the preferred outbound travel destinations for Hong Kong and Macau residents. It is also one of the top three markets for global visitors to Taiwan. According to the population of Hong Kong and Macau in 2019, which was approximately 8.1866 million, the highest number of Hong Kong and Macau visitors to Taiwan in a single year was 1.758 million people, accounting for roughly 21.5% of the total population. Since the border policy was opened on October 13, 2022, Hong Kong and Macau citizens have been allowed to visit Taiwan in tour groups starting from November 7. However, independent travel by Hong Kong and Macau tourists accounts for over 90% of the total visits to Taiwan. As group travel requires preparation and promotion, the number of Hong Kong and Macau visitors to Taiwan for tourism has been relatively low compared to other markets. The Tourism Bureau is pleased to see that the Mainland Affairs Council has opened up Taiwan to independent travel by Hong Kong and Macau tourists. This move is expected to significantly boost growth for future foreign visitors to Taiwan.

To maintain the tourism momentum, during the pandemic, the Tourism Bureau promoted the theme of "Diverse Themes, Safe Travel" in Hong Kong and Macau, continuously updating and showcasing Taiwan's tourism impressions. The Bureau, for example, actively organized various activities on social media platforms, such as railway tourism lectures and sharing check-ins to give away prizes. They also creatively held the first Taiwan underwater exhibition in Hong Kong, called "Discover Taiwan," which received recognition from the German Red Dot Design Award and the Taiwan Golden Pin Design Award, both known as the "Oscars of the design world."

The Tourism Bureau stated that outbound tourism from Hong Kong and Macau has been suspended for nearly three years, and the healing effects of travel are needed. Therefore, in response to the opening of free travel for Hong Kong and Macau visitors to Taiwan, they will strengthen Taiwan's image as the first choice for post-pandemic stress relief and relaxation by leveraging the advantage of the short distance between Taiwan and Hong Kong/Macau, and easy-to-arrange short-term vacations. They hope to attract more Hong Kong and Macau friends to return to Taiwan for travel.

The 2023 promotion campaign for the Hong Kong and Macau markets is themed " Soul Taiwan, So Taiwan." During the Taiwan Lantern Festival, they invited Hong Kong media and industry professionals to Taiwan to visit the lantern festival under the theme of "forest healing." The 5-day-4-night itinerary was just the start of three more invitation rounds to follow. In addition, in March, they launched the " Soul Taiwan, So Taiwan" campaign, collaborating with the well-known YouTube network platform "Mill Milk" to produce videos, partnering with diving companies to hold the "Discover Taiwan x Olympus" beach cleaning sustainable tourism promotion event, and working with online travel agencies to organize customer promotions. They offer projects like "forest healing," "ocean healing," "taste healing," and "parent-child healing," allowing Hong Kong and Macau travelers to experience mental and physical healing journeys in Taiwan.

The Director General of the Tourism Bureau, Chang Shi-chun, attaches great importance to the growth of the Hong Kong and Macao markets. Considering that flight growth after the epidemic has not met expectations, in order to make Hong Kong and Macao travelers familiar with the diverse aspects of Taiwan, airlines and travel agencies are encouraged to make good use of the overseas charter flight awards and increase the number of flights to Taiwan. In addition, in order to attract more Hong Kong and Macao tourists to visit and quickly restore the pre-epidemic level, various incentive programs are provided, such as buy-one-get-one-free high-speed rail tickets and metro tickets, WIFI coupons that are convenient for free travelers to share online, Taiwan fruit coupons, and incentive programs for overseas companies to reward travel. Both group and individual tourists are targeted to increase customer attraction to Taiwan travel.