Transportation Minister Hochen Dan has returned from the APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting in Peru. However, he was not able to meet with his Chinese counterpart during the summit, which took place from May 28-29.
China’s delegation was apparently mum about the Taiwanese delegation’s request for a meeting. The minister told a legislative committee meeting Thursday that he regretted being unable to hold a cross-strait meeting at the summit.
The summit in Peru took place amid worries over a slump in the number of Chinese tourists coming to Taiwan.
During Thursday’s committee meeting, Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Cheng Yun-peng praised the transportation ministry’s efforts to attract tourists from Southeast Asia as an alternative. Cheng said it is important to raise the number of visitors from the area so that Taiwan’s tourism industry will not be dominated by a single market.