Taiwan Tourism Bureau (TTB) has seen a 10 per cent growth from India market in 2016 in terms of the visitor footfall. The destination has also witnessed a rise in the MICE footfall from India. To further increase the numbers the destination is now offering free of charge group visas for travellers from India. “India is a very potential market for Taiwan and we are pumping more budgets in this market. We will do more promotions in this market to promote Taiwan. We can see that the numbers from India to Taiwan is increasing rapidly. The exact figures are yet to come but in 2016, we have welcomed around 40000 to 50000 Indian travellers with an increase of around 10 per cent. We enjoyed a higher percentage of growth last year. The connectivity to Taiwan from India is very convenient and also increasing. Also, we offer free group visa to Taiwan, a group needs to contact our partner travel agents in India and all the procedures will be done in a short time,”Arthur Hsieh, Director of Taiwan Tourism Bureau, Singapore Office said.
The Bureau plans to focus on consumer and trade activities in 2017 after easing out visa policies for Indian travellers. Indian nationals are now entitled to free Taiwan visa which can be applied online. Visa exempt entry into Taiwan is for Indian Passport Holder for 30 days via online system with some conditions. “2016 was a productive year for us. Our participation in various marketing activities and other initiatives to increase the number of Indian tourists in Taiwan has given us fruitful results. In terms of MICE, this segment is growing for us. Last year. we welcomed a lot of incentive groups from India to Taiwan. Especially we saw a lot of large groups coming for incentives to Taiwan. We also provide certain incentives to the MICE segment on a case to case basis.”
In 2017, TTB is focusing to promote novel activities for the Indian travellers. Also currently the average length of stay for an Indian traveller is around six nights; the destination is also looking to increase this numbers. Hsieh added, “Taiwan is a country which can be explored in a short time. The Indian agents on an average organise trips to Taiwan from India for around five to six days. It’s a good beginning, now we are encouraging the agents to craft more and more packages which will include more days. This year we are promoting adventure activities to the India market.”
