Transportation Minister Yeh Kuang-shih has announced a new plan to improve the quality of tourism in Taiwan.
During an interview on Friday, Yeh said that a rapid increase in the number of annual tourist visits to Taiwan has led to overcrowding at many of the country’s most popular tourist sites.
Yeh said that since 2008, the number of annual tourist visits to Taiwan has increased from barely 4 million to a projected 9.5 million by the end of the year. He also said that this number could break 10 million at the beginning of next year.
Yeh said that tourism is an important earner for Taiwan, bringing in nearly NT$400 billion (US$13 billion) of foreign currency last year alone. However, he also said that the transportation ministry must find ways to improve the quality of these tourists’ experiences in Taiwan.
In order to do this, Yeh said that his ministry will set a cap on the number of tour groups visiting the country and encourage more visitors to travel independently. He also said that the transportation ministry has tried to ease overcrowding at the most popular sightseeing spots by developing new sights for tourists to visit