Taipei rated most livable city for foreigners in Taiwan: Survey

Taipei, Oct. 19 (CNA) Taipei has been ranked the most livable city for foreigners in Taiwan, with transportation convenience and job opportunities cited as key factors, according to a survey released Sunday by the Tourism Innovation Association of Taiwan.

The survey found that 96 percent of foreign nationals in Taiwan see Taipei as the best place to live, followed by Taoyuan at 65.3 percent, and New Taipei 63.6 percent.

The main considerations were job opportunities, cited by 59.5 percent of the respondents, transportation convenience (54.9 percent), education resources (41.0 percent), environment and scenery (37.0 percent), and tourism and cultural assets (32.9 percent), the poll showed.

The attractions of Taipei as the top choice were transportation convenience, as cited by 81.4 percent of the respondents, job opportunities (67.4 percent), cultural diversity (45.3 percent), education resources (26.2 percent), and language services (22.1 percent), the poll showed.

According to the survey, 42 percent of foreign nationals came to Taiwan for work, 35.8 percent for tourism, and 16.4 percent for study.

More than two-thirds have been in Taiwan for over a year, which indicates the country's growing appeal as a long-stay destination rather than just a short-term travel spot, the poll found.

Ringo Lee (李奇嶽), chairman of the Tourism Innovation Association of Taiwan, said Taipei's strong performance reflects its mature infrastructure, multilingual environment and vibrant cultural scene.

Lee noted that the foreign respondents gave high satisfaction ratings for Taiwan's transportation, healthcare, education, and social environment, with more than 90 percent describing their overall experience as "satisfactory" or "very satisfactory."

Further improvement of Taipei's language services, its promotion of cross-cultural exchange, and expansion of international education resources could help cement its position as one of the most livable cities in Asia for foreign nationals, he said.

The online survey was conducted from Sept. 16 to Oct. 2, collecting 519 valid responses from foreign nationals from China, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and South Korea.