Hotel Industry
Hotel and Guesthouse Guidance and Management
The Tourism Bureau continued to conduct regular inspections and supervise local governments in implementing hotel administration actions to assist them in improving hotel management results. In 2022, local governments inspected 8,059 hotels (including 5,331 licensed hotels, 386 unlicensed hotels, and 2,342 daily rental suites); and 8,397 guesthouses (including 7,697 licensed guesthouses and 700 unlicensed guesthouses). The bureau continued to strengthen hotel brand images and guide the hotel industry towards quality improvements to increase the competitiveness of this sector. As of the end of 2022, there were 375 Star rated Hotels and 1,179 guest houses with Taiwan Hosts certification.
Assisting Quality Improvement in the Hotel Industry
The Tourism Bureau promoted the "Guidelines on Subsidies of the Tourism Bureau, MOTC to Incentivize Quality Improvements" to further encourage the hotel industry to create friendly and smart service spaces, improve service quality, and provide high-quality accommodation for domestic and international visitors. Under the guidelines, the Bureau provided subsidies to hotels to create Muslim-friendly facilities, barrier-free guest rooms, and accessible facilities, purchase self-service check-in counters, and install enterprise resource management (ERP) or property management systems (PMS) to link operational data to the TaiwanStay website. Approximately 1,156 subsidies totaling more than NT$238 million had been approved by the end of 2022.
On June 16, 2022, the Tourism Bureau promulgated the amended the "Directions for Tourism Bureau, MOTC Revitalization of Financing Credit, Guaranteed Loans and Interest Subsidies for the Tourism Industry" to help businesses with insufficient collateral to obtain financing. As of 2022, a total of 1,305 tourism businesses applied for NT$10.63 billion in financing loans. In addition, the bureau assisted the tourism industry in obtaining preferential loans to incentivize renovations or software and hardware upgrades. A total of NT$13.31 billion was approved in 278 cases, of which NT$346 million in interest subsidies was granted in 126 cases.
Helping Quarantine Hotels Complete the Pandemic Prevention Mission and Return to Normal Operation
Subsidies were provided to help local governments accelerate the conversion of hotels to serve as COVID-19 quarantine facilities to meet the accommodation needs of people under home quarantine or isolation, while also considering the rights and interests of people quarantining or self-isolating people and domestic COVID-19 prevention and safety. Quarantine accommodations peaked in January of 2022 ahead of the Lunar New Year, with 519 participating hotels and 32,000 rooms, helping Taiwanese people smoothly return to Taiwan for family reunions. As of October 12, 2022, assistance with quarantine accommodations was provided for more than 918,000 people (including 492,000 people in 2022), effectively reducing the risk of community infection.
Furthermore, in response to the 0+7 quarantine policy implemented by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on October 13, 2022, a per-room subsidy of NT$5,000 was provided to help hotels convert from quarantine facilities to normal operations. The Tourism Bureau also continued to encourage the hotel industry to prepare COVID-19 prevention measures for domestic and foreign guests.
Promoting Bicycle-friendly Accommodations
The Tourism Bureau brought together hotel operators to promote "bicycle-friendly accommodations" and encourage people to travel by bicycle, resolve the problem of hotel car parking, and strengthen bicycle tourism support services. In May and June of 2022, the bureau arranged a "Bicycle Friendly Accommodations Popularity Vote and Prize Drawing" activity, leading to the selection of 15 top bicycle-friendly hostels in the northern, central, southern, eastern, and outlying island areas of Taiwan. The activity marketed and promoted bicycle-friendly accommodations. The public enthusiastically participated in the 10-day flash vote, with nearly 400,000 votes cast.
With assistance from the Tourism Bureau, more than 5,000 hotels have joined the bicycle-friendly accommodation network. Relevant information is provided on the TaiwanStay and Taiwan Bike websites, and visitors can search for accommodations by county, city, or the 16 themed cycling routes on the Bike-Friendly Accommodation page.
