A fall in mainland visitors to Taiwan continued to have a negative impact on the island’s balance of tourism service payments in the second quarter of this year, according to official media.
Citing data from Taiwan’s central bank, the China News Agency reported on Saturday that the island’s second quarter balance of tourism service payments recorded a deficit of US$671 million, marking the second consecutive quarter a deficit was recorded. The second quarter’s deficit was greater than the US$202 million recorded in the first quarter.
During the April-June period, the central bank said, the number of mainland visitors to Taiwan fell 6.3 per cent, while the number of total foreign arrivals rose 2.2 per cent.
In the three-month period, the number of South Korean visitors rose 33.5 per cent, the number of visitors from the Americas grew 7.7 per cent, and the number of European visitors rose 4.6 per cent, the bank data showed.
Beijing was blamed by Taiwan’s tourism investors for using its tourists as a bargaining chip against Taiwan’s new government since the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party swept to power in January elections.