Taiwan Faces Collective Backlash from Travel Industry over Suspension of Group Tours from China

After Taiwan authorities decided to suspend group tour bookings from mainland China, the Taiwanese travel industry launched a collective protest.

Group tour of Taiwanese people to China.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Earlier, on the 7th, Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation announced a three-month suspension of group tour bookings from mainland China, calling China's sudden change to the M503 flight route a malicious act.

According to Taiwanese media on the 11th, representatives of the local travel agency industry recently appealed to President-elect Lai Ching-te to revoke this measure by the authorities.

They emphasized that if their demands are not met, they will stage street protests before Lai Ching-te's inauguration on May 20.

At a press conference, an industry official stated that before COVID-19, about 4 to 5 million Taiwanese visited mainland China, and 4 million Chinese visited Taiwan.

They further claimed that if the average spending per person during the trip is calculated at 50,000 New Taiwan Dollars (approximately 2.12 million KRW), this measure by the authorities could result in losses amounting to hundreds of billions of New Taiwan Dollars.

Meanwhile, Taiwan authorities plan to implement the suspension for three months initially, monitor any changes in China's attitude, and then decide on further actions.