Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau: Less than NT$20m of subsidies given to foreign tour groups generated NT$800m earnings last year

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/05/08
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)–Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau said Monday that the government gave a total of less than NT$20 million (US$650,000) of subsidies to members of 297 foreign tour groups last year, but providing the aid generated NT$800 million of foreign exchange earnings in return in a rebuttal to an online rumor.

The bureau issued a statement on Monday afternoon to rebut a rumor circulating on social media that the government gave a subsidy of NT$500 for every attraction a foreign tourist visited in order to attract more foreign tourists and make the government’s New Southbound Policy look good.

The bureau said that subsidies were given to tour groups instead of individuals and the purpose of providing such financial aid is to attract more foreign tourists to Taiwan and generate more incomes from foreign exchange for the country.
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