Taiwan offers cash incentives to boost tourism amid pandemic recovery

Taiwan is offering financial incentives to foreign visitors to encourage travel across the island, covering portions of travel, accommodation, and car rental costs.

Eligible tourists must be foreign nationals who booked their trips through a government-approved travel agency. The initiative aims to revive Taiwan’s tourism sector, which has struggled since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before the pandemic, Taiwan’s tourism industry was booming, with a record 11.84 million international visitors in 2019—up 7.4% from the previous year. But the pandemic caused a sharp decline, with foreign visitor numbers dropping by 79.5% in 2020 compared to 2019.

To help rebuild the sector, the Taiwanese government has rolled out incentives including domestic travel subsidies and discounted entry to attractions. The Tourism Bureau is now offering TWD 5,000 to up to 500,000 individual travelers and TWD 20,000 to 90,000 travel groups to offset travel, lodging, and car rental expenses. Subsidies are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis and paid digitally—no cash disbursed.

The goal: restore pre-pandemic tourist numbers by 2025, despite ongoing geopolitical tensions with mainland China.