Taiwan, Japan discuss ways to boost tourist exchanges

Taiwan and Japan held a joint summit yesterday to discuss ways of improving tourism exchanges between them, the Tourism Bureau said.

The summit, which was held Friday in Hualien County in eastern Taiwan, was aimed at capitalising on growing Taiwan-Japan ties to boost the travel market, said a bureau official Cheng Chih-hung.

“The meeting will focus mainly on the latest collaboration in the aviation industry to make travel more accessible,” Cheng said.

He was referring to the open skies agreement between Taiwan and Japan, which was signed last November, to liberalise commercial aviation services between the two countries. The agreement also allows Taiwan airlines to operate unlimited services to Japanese destinations other than Tokyo.

The pact is expected to result in increased tourism from Japan, the bureau said. Japanese tourist arrivals to Taiwan hit a record 1.29 million last year, an annual increase of 20 percent, according to government statistics.

During the meeting, Japan is likely to introduce more diversified travel packages such as in-depth tours to central Japan.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/foreign-affairs/2012/07/07/346751/Taiwan-Japan.htm

 

Category: Japan