The Tourism Bureau says it plans to open up Taiwan’s borders to inbound tourists first before allowing outbound tourists to travel overseas. That’s after the Central Epidemic Command Center announced on Thursday that Taiwan is likely to ease its border restrictions late September or early October.
But the tourism bureau’s proposal would allow only tour groups into Taiwan at the beginning. People traveling without a tour group would be subject to policy set by the foreign ministry, which hasn’t announced its plans.
The tourism bureau says there are two reasons for letting international tourists enter Taiwan first. One is that typically, Taiwan gets fewer people coming into the country for travel than leaving it. That means opening to overseas travelers is the easier option.
The other reason is to give time to local businesses to get ready for when the borders open up. The bureau says it takes one to two months to carry out international marketing, including advertising and soliciting customers.
As for outbound travel, many famous restaurants and hotels overseas have closed due to the impact of the COVID pandemic in the last two years. That means local travel agencies need time to repackage their tours before promoting them.