Taiwan Introduces Plan to Attract Tourists — by Paying Them

Taiwan is looking to boost its tourism numbers, and will hand out cash to visitors as an incentive to come.

The island will hand out NT $5,000 (or about $166) to 500,000 individual tourists along with up to NT $20,000 (or about $667) to 90,000 tour groups, CNN reported. The money will be given out digitally after tourists arrive, according to the Taipei Times, and can be used to cover expenses while in Taiwan, including for food or accommodation.

However, travelers looking to plan a trip may want to hold tight since it was not immediately clear when the money would be issued or how to apply for it, according to CNN.

“The money will be given out through multiple tourism promotion events this year, rather than giving it all out at once,” Tourism Bureau Director-General Chang Shi-chung said, according to the Taipei Times. “As such, not all international tourists would receive it.“

The new incentive program comes as the government aims to draw in six million tourists in 2023 and then 10 million tourists by 2025, CNN noted.

Transport Minister Wang Kuo-tsai said the island hopes to use the incentive to bring in visitors from key markets, including Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Macao, Europe, and America.

Taiwan welcomes travelers, including from the United States, without the need to test for COVID-19 before their trip, according to the American Institute in Taiwan. The country also dropped quarantine rules in October and eased mask rules in December.

Taiwan isn’t the first destination to pay tourists to visit. In 2021, Malta introduced a scheme to pay tourists to stay in hotels there, and last year, a region in Italy’s northeastern corner chose to cover traveler’s train fare in an effort to promote sustainable travel.

On the other hand, several destinations have introduced plans to collect tourist fees, including Thailand, Venice, and Europe as a whole.