Taiwan hotelier urges government to reopen borders to save the industry

Monday, October 25, 2021

A head of Taiwan tourism group has demanded from the government to moderately ease restrictions related to border opening restrictions, saying its necessity as the hotel industry of the country is in major trouble.

Leofoo Tourism Group Chairwoman Lulu Chuang, in a recent interview with CNA, (莊豐如) has requested the government to look into the examples of the U.S. and U.K. and the way they’ve in loosened border controls as vaccination rates reach certain levels.

Chuang also explained that Taipei has been especially affected, as the city depends majorly on foreign tourists. She also shared that occupancy rates during the peak of the pandemic at the Courtyard by Marriott Taipei in Nangang District varies between 10-20%, while from May to July, Leofoo Village Theme Park closed its doors from to comply with government policies.

“Last year, we made a prompt decision to convert the Leofoo Hotel and Leofoo Residences into quarantine hotels” in order to maintain stable sources of guests and earnings. The Courtyard by Marriott Taipei had also recently transformed into a quarantine hotel, she added.

The tourism industry of Taiwan, which is often labeled as “dying,” has been wishing for the border reopening, the newspaper wrote.

“Taiwan should not lock the country in order to pursue zero confirmed cases,” Chuang said.

She also added that as the vaccination rates climb in Taiwan, the government should do more than just hand out stimulus vouchers; it should also plan on moderately relaxing border restrictions to attract foreign investment and visitors, which she called a matter of great urgency.

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