International visitors to Taiwan decreased by 200,000 between March and April, according to Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau. Analysts believe this is in response to the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck Hualien on April 3, in addition to the aftershocks and landslides that occurred in weeks and months following.
At the end of 2023, the Transportation Ministry set a goal of 12 million international tourists visiting Taiwan this year. However, following the presidential election and subsequent impact on cross-strait relations, this number was revised down to 10 million. Despite this adjustment, the first half of 2024 has seen only 3.4 million tourists.
Providence University’s Associate Professor of Tourism Huang Cheng-tsung (黃正聰) commented this decrease in visitors is most likely due to Hualien’s earthquake and other natural disasters that followed. He said the number of visitors from Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore has declined dramatically at a rate of about 30 to 40 percent.
Although the government has offered subsidies in an effort to revitalize tourism in Hualien and throughout the east coast, results have been limited. Huang said this is most likely because people still have safety concerns. However, the occupancy rate has increased by about 20 to 30 percent. He said he was hopeful that tourism for the region will improve during summer vacation.