Lai vows to boost domestic tourism with coordinated national strategy

Taipei, Nov. 7 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Friday vowed to coordinate a national strategy to strengthen Taiwan's tourism sector, with the goal of boosting spending by domestic travelers to NT$1 trillion (US$31 billion) by 2030.

Speaking at the opening of the 2025 Taipei International Travel Fair (ITF), Lai said Taiwan should leverage its natural scenery, cuisine, and cultural diversity through closer public-private collaboration.

The president noted that Taiwan's domestic tourism output reached NT$837.8 billion last year and that the government aims to raise the figure to NT$1 trillion by 2030.

He said that tourism development encompasses three equally important areas -- domestic, inbound, and outbound travel.

Citing statistics from the Tourism Association, Lai said Taiwanese people spend more than NT$1.4 trillion annually on tourism, of which around NT$900 billion goes to overseas travel and about NT$500 billion to domestic trips, indicating room for growth in the domestic market.

As a result, Lai said he has instructed the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the Executive Yuan to establish a dedicated unit as soon as possible to study and promote tourism development, integrate tourism policies and industry chains, and strengthen overall competitiveness -- from talent cultivation and product development to industrial structure integration.

Discussing ways to boost domestic tourism, the president pointed to several favorable trends, including 33 public holidays spread across nine long weekends next year, as well as rising disposable incomes resulting from tax cuts and welfare measures.

However, Lai noted that while Taiwan has a solid foundation for promoting domestic tourism, it also faces significant challenges.

Although there will be many long weekends next year, he said, if the quality of domestic tourism is comparable to that abroad and the price difference is not substantial, people may still prefer to travel overseas.

Lai cited Japan as an example, noting that the number of trips made by Taiwanese to Japan reached 6 million last year, mainly due to convenient transportation and attractive airfares.

The Tourism Administration said Thursday it will launch incentives next year to encourage corporate domestic travel and invite overseas Taiwanese businesses to organize tours of Taiwan.

The 2025 ITF runs from Nov. 7 to 10 at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, featuring exhibitors from 123 countries and cities including Japan, South Korea and the United States, along with more than 40 Taiwanese travel agencies and 130 hotels, restaurants, airlines, and theme parks.