Taiwan to give tourists $82m in perks to boost economy

Bloomberg

Taiwan will offer 500,000 tourists a cash or discount incentive this year as it tries to shore up its post-pandemic travel industry and boost spending.
The incentives, worth NT$5,000 ($165) each, were announced as part of a NT$5.3 billion package to attract international tourists. The total value of the perks comes to NT$2.5 billion ($82.4 million).
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said at a press conference that tourists would have a chance to obtain the perk, with a rollout plan to be determined at an “appropriate” time. Possible ways to distribute the perk include through lucky draw or via airlines.
The money may be handed out electronically or as discounts for accommodation, transport or other purchases, officials said.
“We hope to accelerate and expand efforts for international tourists to come to Taiwan,” Lin Fu-shan, department director of the transportation ministry, said at a separate press briefing.
The spending plan also included a proposal to offer travel agencies NT$10,000 each for groups of at least eight tourists, and NT$20,000 each for groups of at least 15 tourists.
Taiwan is looking for ways to boost its economy after removing Covid curbs last year. Growth is expected to slow in 2023 as the trade-dependent island struggles with a dropoff in exports, making it more important to spur activity through domestic demand and tourism.
Before the pandemic, tourism accounted for about 4% of Taiwan’s gross domestic product, according to Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau.
But visits came to a near-standstill as Taiwan closed its borders and implemented quarantine rules to contain the virus. Geopolitical tensions have also chilled the industry, as China banned individual tourists traveling to Taiwan in 2019, and last month left it off a list of 20 permitted destinations for Chinese tour groups.
Taiwan has taken some steps to welcome visitors, including reopening its borders to individual travellers from Hong Kong and Macau this month.
The government wants to attract six million tourists this year, Transportation Minister Wang Kwo-tsai said earlier.
After reopening last October, Taiwan attracted nearly 900,000 tourists in 2022, according to a statement from Taiwan’s Transportation Ministry.
The tourism announcement was part of a larger, NT$380 billion stimulus package that was approved via a special act by lawmakers. Lawmakers still need to sign off on where all of the funds are used specifically. Other parts of that plan — paid for using surplus tax revenue — include allocating funds for use by the state-owned Taiwan Power Company and health insurance system.

Taiwan’s industrial output posts worst fall since 2009

Bloomberg

Taiwan’s industrial output recorded its worst plunge since 2009 in January as
the slowdown in global demand and the lengthy Lunar New Year holiday weighed on activity.
Industrial production dropped 20.5% in the month from a year earlier, data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed. That was far worse than a median estimate of a 11.25% decline in a Bloomberg survey of economists, and compared to December’s 8% fall.
The economics ministry attributed the decline to waning demand and global growth, along with the holiday period, which was longer than usual.
Nearly 64% of manufacturers surveyed by the government expect production to remain steady in February, while almost 20% expected it to be worse than January.
The government this week cut its forecast for growth in 2023 as weak exports continue to drag on the economy. Taiwan’s Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics now sees gross domestic product likely to grow 2.12% from a year prior, down from an estimate of 2.75%.
The projection for exports worsened to a 5.84% contraction, while inflation is likely to pick up.