Ma lauds Taiwan’s tourism credentials

2015/06/16

President Ma Ying-jeou said June 13 that the government is further expanding and upgrading Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport as part of efforts transforming Taiwan into an Asia-Pacific transportation hub.

“Taiwan is only 4 1/2 hours away by air from capital cities of neighboring countries and territories and 55 hours by sea from major ports in the region,” Ma said. “We must take advantage of this central location and introduce additional measures for attracting more visitors, enhancing the quality of the local tourism industry and spurring investment in related sectors.”

The president made the remarks during an inspection of the airport’s customs, inspection, quarantine and security operations, as well as frontline measures for preventing the spread of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus.

According to Ma, the number of foreign visitors to Taiwan surged from 3.71 million before he took office in 2008 to 9.91 million last year. “After renovation of Terminal One was completed and expansion of Terminal Two got underway, the airport’s passenger traffic increased from 20 million travelers to 36 million,” he said.

“Visiting Taiwan will be even more pleasant after construction of an airport metro line is completed by the end of the year and in-town check-in services are introduced at Taipei Main Station.”

The president also commended the airport’s enhanced security and traffic flow planning, adding that the facility’s improved rankings in recent global surveys reflect well on government initiatives in this regard.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=231489&ctNode=413)