Trends in outbound tourism from Taiwan

Abstract

In 1979, Taiwan's government relaxed its bait on overseas travel, and permitted residents to travel to mainland China to visit relatives in 1987. In 1994, 4.74 million people travelled abroad, about 22% of Taiwan's total population. Thus has Taiwan become one of the world's most prominent tourist-exporting countries. In this article, we review government outbound tourism policies, analyze the market structure and the characteristics of travellers, discuss problems and propose solutions to improve the nation's outbound-tourism standing, and look at the future of Taiwan's outbound travel.