Taiwan to make tourism key industry as risk of war with China wanes

Taipei - Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou Sunday ordered that the government make tourism one of the six key industries for active development on the island as warming cross-strait relations have helped reduce the risk of war with China. 'With reconciliation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, we no longer need to spend time in worrying about war,' he said. 'It is therefore necessary for the authorities to make tourism one of our six flagship industries in order to make Taiwan a global tourist attraction,' Ma said. He became president in May 2008 on a platform of engaging Beijing, and the two sides have reached a series of agreements on economic and travel cooperation, resulting in the influx of 3,000 of Chinese tourists to the island each day. Ma said Hong Kong and Singapore have been able to attract more than 10 million tourists from abroad every year, a number much bigger than their populations. Taiwan's Tourism Bureau launched a four-year promotion programme this year to lure foreign tourists and to turn the island into a transfer point for South-East Asian tourists. It plans to bring in 10 international hotel chains, improve tourism infrastructure and promote eco-tourism, medical tourism and spas to attract tourism from the region and from Muslim countries. In 2008, Taiwan received 3.84 million foreign visitors, falling short of its goal of 4 million. Foreign Ministry officials said cross-strait reconciliation could allow Taiwan to join International Civil Aviation Organisation. Taiwan has been barred from the UN-affiliated organisation, an affiliate of United Nations, which does not recognize Taiwan as a state since it admitted Beijing as the legal representative of China in 1970. Beijing objected Taiwan's participation in UN organizations, but has compromised its stand to allow Taipei to join the annual assembly of the World Health Organisation, another UN affiliate, in May as an observer.