In the first quarter of this year, the Tourism Bureau plans to continue to launch the "Taiwan Fresh Fruit Box Redemption Card" for international tourists, allowing international tourists to taste the delicacy of Taiwanese fruits.

(File photo, provided by the Tourism Bureau)

[Reporter Zheng Weiqi/Taipei Report] The Ministry of Communications will propose a central plan to promote the use of public transportation this year and accelerate the plan to attract international tourists to Taiwan. At present, it is confirmed that the funds will be used for "special regulations on strengthening economic and social resilience after the epidemic and sharing economic achievements for all." budget.

According to the Ministry of Communications, the plan to attract international tourists to Taiwan will be divided into group tourists and independent travel groups, providing fee subsidies and gift coupons respectively; public transportation is divided into two categories: commuting and school commuting tickets, and sightseeing public transportation packages , to guide local governments to launch relevant programs to encourage people to take public transportation.

In 2022, the central government can use 380 billion yuan in excess tax collection, of which 100 billion yuan will be invested in strengthening economic and social resilience programs, including transportation, attracting international tourists to Taiwan, and stabilizing people's livelihood; the Ministry of Communications also strives for this This budget should be invested in the central government's plan to promote the use of public transportation and attract international tourists to Taiwan.

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The Ministry of Communications pointed out that the commuting and schooling part of the plan to promote public transportation will use the concept of living circles, such as Beibeiji, Nangaoping, etc., to jointly launch public transportation monthly tickets; such as the 1280 monthly ticket for Shuangbei, Kaohsiung In the future, the MeN Go commuter pass, etc. will be able to expand cooperation with surrounding counties and cities, include Taiwan Railway, National Highway Passenger Transport and other means of transportation, and then propose a plan subsidy to the central government.

In addition to the joint launch of commuter monthly tickets by multiple counties and cities, individual counties and cities can also integrate their own public transportation and launch programs to encourage public transportation.

In terms of sightseeing public transportation packages, the main purpose is to use public transportation to connect sightseeing spots. The Tourism Bureau will be responsible for planning, promoting the optimization measures of Taiwan Travel and Taiwan Tour Bus, or considering different sightseeing public transportation plans.

The plan to promote public transportation originally planned to invest 16 billion yuan from 2012 to 2015 (1.6 billion yuan in 112 years, 4.5 billion yuan in 113 years, 4.8 billion yuan in 114 years, and 5.1 billion yuan in 20115). It can be increased by another 20% to 30%.

The Ministry of Communications stated that if the promotion of public transportation is effective, it will not rule out including it in the public budget as a normal subsidy in the future.

In terms of attracting international tourists to Taiwan, the Ministry of Communications pointed out that because the method of attracting tourists is to continue to promote, the first quarter of this year includes "Taiwan Fresh Fruit Box Redemption Card", "5-day 4G Internet Redemption Voucher", "Airport MRT One-way Redemption Coupons” and “Taiwan High Speed ​​Rail Company Buy One Get One Free” will continue to be launched; follow-up plans for independent travelers will provide sightseeing spot packages, tickets, Taiwan Tour Bus coupons, etc., to make it more convenient for tourists to visit Taiwan.

Group tourists are mainly given subsidies, so that Taiwan’s local travel agencies can get a subsidy fee for each tourist who picks up a high-quality itinerary (in the past, each subsidy was 800 yuan), and encourage the operators to go more with foreign travel agencies Talk about cooperation, let them send more tourists to Taiwan, and achieve the goal of 6 million international tourists visiting Taiwan this year.

In addition, considering the opening of international tourism in 2023 and comprehensive industry feedback, attracting international tourists to Taiwan will go in two directions. First, to cooperate with government policies to conduct new product inspections. Subsequent expansion highlights will be included in the 2023 new itinerary and high-quality itinerary award program.

Second, use the themed tourist attractions promoted by the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Communications as the basis for high-quality itinerary subsidies, and incorporate the 28 places selected in the 2022 plan into the increased new itinerary subsidy program.