Tourism Bureau offering grants for cruises with Chinese tourists

Travel agencies that charter a boat for mainlanders to travel across Taiwan Strait will receive money in grants once the number of passengers is more than 100, MOTC said; the amount of the grant can go up to NT$100,000 if the boat accommodates more than 150 people. If all goes well, agencies can receive their money before the end of December.

Financially supporting tourism agencies will encourage them to program tour packages by chartering boats, and it is also a strategy to pave the way for Taiwan's cruise tourism business in future in addition to solving the problem of insufficient cross-straight flights, the Railways and Highways Department (RHR) under MOTC said.

MOTC made several clear regulations, including that the visitors onboard must not be R.O.C. citizens and their time in Taiwan, as well as Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, cannot be under three days. Also, to meet the conditions of applying for subsidies, the tour has to be a round-trip, meaning that travel agencies have to arrange for the Chinese tourists to visit and leave Taiwan by charter cruises.

According to the Tourism Bureau, it will count a cruise as a return trip. If the number of tourists is less than 150, the amount of the grant will be reduced in proportion to the number of tourists.

Charter boats can berth at a total of 15 harbors in Taiwan, including Keelung, Taipei, Suao, Kaohsiung, Anping, Taichung, Mailiao, Heping, Budai Port, Liaoluo and Shuetou Port at Kinmen, Fuou and Baisha at Matsu and Magong Port at Penghu, MOTC said, adding that more related principles will be issued soon. Despite the goodwill of government, many travel agencies consider the amount of the grant to be barely adequate. Some even complain that the government is confining the scope of their tour packages due to the regulation that tourists must arrive and leave by boat.

This program could also rule out trips between Kinmen and Xiamen because there have always been so many Chinese tourists taking trips ; for example, 10 tour groups took a boat to Kinmen yesterday, said Hsu Kao-chin, an official from Travel Agent Association. If the trips between Kinmen and Xiamen can apply for grants, Kao expects it to influence the current regular shipping times.

The off-season for the Chinese travel industry is coming soon as it is entering December, said Weng Ping-tsan, a local travel agency owner. Sometimes a tour group has recruited less than 20 people; it is more practical to give money in accordance with the total numbers onboard, Weng added.

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