TAIPEI - Taiwan’s Tourism Administration has announced incentives of up to NT$8,000 for repeat international visitors in a bid to strengthen inbound tourism.

The scheme is open to all international travellers, with repeat visitors eligible for NT$5,000 and an additional NT$3,000 if they bring travel companions, it said on June 17.

Taipei Times reported that the initiative comes as Taiwan continues to see steady growth in visitor arrivals.

The nation recorded 2,990,657 inbound visitors in the first quarter, reflecting a 3.8 per cent increase compared with the same period last year, according to official data.

Japanese travellers remain one of the largest visitor groups to Taiwan, with about 1.48 million visits last year, representing a year-on-year increase of more than 12 per cent, although still around 70 per cent of pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

Japan is also set to reduce its passport application fee to ¥7,000 from ¥15,900 next month.

The Japan Association of Travel Agents has launched a campaign encouraging more outbound travel among Japanese citizens.

Tourism Administration director-general Chen Yu-hsiu met association president Kuniharu Ebina and Hankyu Travel International chairman Jun Sakai to discuss tourism cooperation.

Both sides expressed hope that Japan’s lower passport fees and Taiwan’s visitor incentives would encourage more Japanese arrivals.

The agency added that it will continue offering travel stimulus programmes for visitors attending trade exhibitions.

Meanwhile, Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is preparing for heavy traffic during the Dragon Boat Festival long weekend.

More than 713,000 passengers are expected to travel overseas from today until next Monday.

Daily airport traffic is forecast to average 143,000 passengers, surpassing last year’s 132,000 and even the 2019 level of 138,000.

Passenger numbers are expected to peak at 149,000 tomorrow.

Taiwan International Airport Corp has advised travellers to arrive at least three hours early, check in online, and use self-service baggage drop facilities to reduce congestion.

Passengers are also encouraged to use e-Gates and check AI-generated waiting times for security screening.

As of May 20, more than 20 million passengers had passed through the airport this year, reaching the milestone 15 days earlier than last year and nine days earlier than in 2019.