INCONSEQUENTIAL:There is a negligible price difference between paying full price on hotels’ Web sites for a rebate and buying packages from travel agencies, an expert said
By Huang Yi-ching, Chung Li-hua and Fion Khan / Staff reporters, with staff writer
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved an extension of the Tourism Administration’s weekday domestic travel subsidy program through the end of the year, although an expert said that the financial incentives fail to offset the cost of taking time off work.
The program, which was scheduled to end on Nov. 30, is expected to generate 4.4 million visits and NT$37.4 billion （US$1.14 billion） in tourism revenue, the Tourism Administration told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference.
The incentives include accommodation subsidies of up to NT$2,000 for stays from Sunday to Thursday, NT$1,200 birthday accommodation vouchers, discounts for overnight stays at amusement parks, domestic travel subsidies for corporate employees and Taiwan Pass discounts.
Under program, the proportion of travelers staying for a second consecutive night has reached more than 50 percent nationwide, the agency said.
Hualien, Penghu, Taitung, Lienchiang, Pingtung and Kinmen counties outperformed the national average, it added.
The results have met the policy’s goal of encouraging domestic travelers to take three-day, two-night trips on weekdays and explore local attractions across Taiwan, the agency said.
The 48,000 half-price Taiwan Pass packages allocated under the promotion are also expected to sell out soon, it added.
Separately, National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism professor Wayne Liu （劉喜臨） said that Taiwan’s domestic travel market is not inactive, but plagued by a high concentration of weekend day trips.
“Consumers are not unable to afford travel; it is about whether they feel the money spent is worth it,” Liu said.
For office workers, the cost of taking a day of paid annual leave often exceeds the discount, he said, adding that students have classes and are less likely to travel.
Furthermore, the price difference between paying full price on a hotel’s official Web site to receive a rebate and buying packages from online travel agencies offering discounted rates is negligible, Liu said.
He also warned that recurring “handouts” could lead to subsidy addiction, urging the government to return to market mechanisms.
The weekday-weekend gap and the decline in overnight stays do not need to be solved simultaneously, he said.
To boost overnight accommodation rates, the government could incentivize people who go on weekend day trips to stay the night without tying the policy to weekday travel, Liu said.
He suggested partnering with online travel agencies to add platform incentives on top of existing discounts, and expanding subsidies to cover food, transportation and shopping to enhance the overall perceived value for consumers.
Additional reporting by CNA
新聞來源：
TAIPEI TIMES