Taiwan’s Outbound Travel Market
In 2018, Taiwanese citizens made 16,644,684 trips abroad, up 990,105 trips (6.32%) from the year before. Asia was the main destination, accounting for 15,152,547 trips, or 91.04% of the total, followed by the Americas with 710,039 trips (4.27%), Europe with 537,777 trips (3.23%), Oceania with 224,271 trips (1.35%), Africa with 16,649 trips, and other regions 3,398 trips.
Japan was the first destination of choice, attracting 4,825,948 Taiwanese visitors, followed by China (4,172,704 trips), Hong Kong (1,696,265), South Korea (1,086,516), and Tailand (679,145).
According to the findings of the “2018 Survey of Travel by ROC Citizens,” Japan attracted the greatest share of visitors from Taiwan in 2018 (34.4%), followed by China (24.5%), South Korea (7.5%), Europe (6.5%), Hong Kong (5.2%), the U.S. (3.7%), Thailand (3.7%), and Vietnam (3.4%). The biggest share of overseas trips in the year were arranged entirely independently without using a travel agent (45%), followed by travel arranged as group trips or incentive trips (33%), travel arranged partly through travel agents (16%), and purchases of independent travel or flight + hotel packages (6%).
The main purpose of citizens’ overseas travel in 2018 was tourism. The main reasons for going abroad for tourism were the invitation of relatives or friends, curiosity and the wish to experience the way of life in a different country, and to relax.
Major Indices of Taiwan Citizens’ Outbound Travel in 2018
In 2018, ROC citizens spent an average of NT$48,529 per person per trip overseas (up 1.44%). Annual spending on overseas travel for the year totaled an estimated at NT$807.7 billion (up 7.85%).
| index | 2018 | 2017 | 2018 versus 2017 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ratio of outbound travelers to total population | 33.9% | 32.5% | 1.4 percentage points | |||
| Total number of outbound trips by citizens (including those under 12) | 16,644,684 visitors | 15,654,579 visitors | 6.32% | |||
| Average number of outbound trips per capita (including citizens under 12) | 0.71 trips | 0.66 trips | 0.05 trips | |||
| Average length of stay per trip | 7.90 nights | 7.97 nights | 0.07 nights | |||
| Average expenditure per person per trip | NT$48,529 | US$1,608 | NT$47,841 | US$1,569 |
NT$
1.44%
|
US$
2.49%
|
| Total outbound travel expenditure (including international flight tickets) | NT$ 807.7 billion | US$ 26.759 billion | NT$ 748.9 billion | US $ 24.566 billion |
NT$
7.85%
|
US$
8.93%
|
- Source of data for “total number of overseas visits by ROC citizens” and “average length of stay (nights)”: National Immigration Agency, Ministry of the Interior.
- “※” Tis symbol indicates that the significance level was under 5% and shown by t-test to not be a significant difference.
- The percentage of citizens who traveled abroad measures the percentage of Taiwanese citizens who took at least one outbound trip during the year
- The average number of outbound trips per person = total number of outbound trips divided by the total population.
- Average expenditure per person per trip includes international flight ticket fees, visa fees, hotel bills, and all overseas expenditures, but excludes expenses prior to departure and after returning home.
