Taiwan’s tourist destinations come with accommodation pricing that locals are finding hard to swallow. Unfortunately, it looks like recent increases in international tourist arrivals won’t help.
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The enchanting view of lovely cherry blossoms blooming on both sides of a river is a sight one can enjoy without leaving Taiwan. However, it doesn’t seem likely that most Taiwanese would be willing to spend money on weekend getaways if prices for local accommodations do not go down.
Transportation Minister Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) recently expressed his views saying that 90% of flights have been restored this year and the number of international tourists visiting Taiwan is expected to reach 12 million. Wang said he believes this volume is sufficient to fill the gap during the hotel industry's off-peak periods, which is reason enough to lower accommodation prices during peak periods. He even threatened that the hotel industry would hear from him if they profit during off-peak periods and still maintain expensive rates during the peak periods.
Taiwan Tourist Hotel Association Secretary General Zhuo Chien-hui (卓倩慧) called on the government to respect the freedom of the market. She said due to manpower constraints, there are only a limited number of rooms available. Zhuo pointed out that the number of tourists last year only reached 6.48 million, which is still quite the distance to 12 million, and clarified that the length of stay of a tourist would be a better metric for their industry.
Despite expectations of an increase in international tourists, it doesn’t look like prices will go down anytime soon as the local tourism and hotel industries grapple with labor shortages, which may impact local Taiwanese weekend plans.