As the long holidays this year come to an end, what changes have there been in the travel trends among Taiwanese people? Is the domestic tourism sector really doing terribly? Is traveling abroad still the preferred choice for Taiwanese? Which cities and tourist destinations hold an irreplaceable position in the hearts of Taiwanese? Taiwan’s largest travel itinerary planning platform “Funliday” has compiled the travel data of over a million users, summarizing the domestic and international travel planning trends of Taiwanese people in the third quarter of 2023.
Taiwan travel statistics in Q3 2023
The recent data highlights a significant shift in travel preferences among tourists. The infographic, emblazoned with the “Local Travel” label, depicts a noticeable decline in local travel to major Taiwanese tourist areas. On the other hand, the “International Travel” section shows a surge in tourism to prominent international destinations.
For local destinations:
- Taipei experienced the most significant dip with a sharp decrease of -57.1% in tourist visits.
- Pingtung followed with a drop of -41.7%, and this is where me, as the creator for Pingtung Travel are most interested.
- Hualian and Yilan saw reductions close to each other, with -40% and -39.6%, respectively.
- Tainan witnessed a fall of -33.6%.
- Lastly, Chiayi faced a dip of -31.5% in local tourism.
Switching our gaze to international destinations:
- Tokyo is leading the surge with a robust growth of 74.9%.
- Kyoto observed a 56.6% rise in tourists.
- Okinawa experienced an increase of 50.5%.
- Busan and Seoul, both South Korean cities, saw growth rates neck-and-neck at 48.2% and 47.7%, respectively.
- Rounding off the list, Osaka reported an upswing of 44.4% in international visitors.
The overarching theme, is clear: while local tourism in Taiwan seems to be taking a backseat, international destinations are enjoying a pronounced uptick in interest and visits.
While I can not speak about all other destinations in Taiwan too much, if you follow my blog, you would already see this coming. First of all of course, after the easing the travel restrictions after covid era, everyone just hungrily went out.
But is this the only problem? Despite the hectic attempts of Pingtung government to slash out 1000NT coupons for a visiting homestays and B&B’s in the area, results as we can see are bleak.
In my opinion, the problem is not only in travel restrictions lifting – the main problem is the incredibly overinflated prices in Pingtung, and especially in the Kenting area – and this also regards food prices, not only accommodation. I already wrote about 120 NTD chicken chop in Kenting:
I also wrote about the simple sea food set of 1200 NTD:
…and many other such posts can be found in my blog. Also, a night in such upscale resorts like Caesar or Chateau, can cost more than 20,000NTD for a simple room, and if you want come at weekends, or longer holidays, it can go up even to 30,000 NTD.
…and same time, we hear about dirty underwear left in a 200,000NTD villa in Kenting.
or how about garbage under the bed in a simple B&B at the price tag of 5000NTD?
Or my own experience of holes in the walls, dirty liquids in the refrigerator on 5000 NTD B&B on Kenting street?
This is how 5000NTD room greeted me in B&W hotel on Kenting Street.
How about Nanwan beach – the most famous beach in the Kenting area, having such black stains time after time because of the problems with sewage systems in nearby villages?
Not only this – how about finally cleaning the mess that banana boat local uncles and aunts are creating all around the beach?
Again, I am NOT a hater. Not at all. Otherwise, I would not be making a whole resource dedicated to Kenting at my own cost and at the expense of my own time. Many positive examples are well-priced and adequate. You can see those on our map. Use filters for hotels, B&Bs, and resorts.
I am genuinely interested in Kenting and all Taiwan local travel to prosper. Still, the quality/price ratio must be adequate at best – for now, it is not at all, and while local businesses and controlling authorities will keep the same attitudes – people will flock to the airport and board the cheap airlines to Kyoto and Busan.