Visitor volume at Taoyuan International Airport reached a new high of 49,692 on Saturday, when Taiwan lifted the weekly cap on arriving visitors from abroad as part of evolving measures to reopen the border first introduced on Oct. 13, the airport operator said.

According to Taoyuan International Airport Corp., there were 24,095 inbound visitors, 25,188 outbound visitors and 409 transit passengers, all new highs since opening started.

On Oct. 13, Taiwan reopened its borders to all arriving visitors, raised the weekly inbound arrival quota from 60,000 to 150,000, and ended mandatory quarantine for those arrivals. Instead, inbound passengers are required to undertake seven days of self-initiated epidemic prevention.

The weekly cap was further raised to 200,000 on Dec. 1 and eventually lifted on Saturday.

According to the company, visitor volume at the country’s main gateway remained around 20,000 per day from Oct. 13-31, passed 30,000 threshold on Nov. 1 and reached 40,000 on Nov. 20.

The figures should continue to grow amid warming travel markets worldwide, the company said.

The aviation sector is picking up momentum as well, with major airlines announcing flight increases.

For instance, Taiwan’s flagship carrier China Airlines has said that starting next year, it will launch direct flight services to Chiang Mai, Thailand, resume flights to Rome and add flights to Vienna and London.

Likewise, EVA Airways, Tigerair Taiwan and StarLux Airlines have said they will increase flights from 2023, mainly to destinations in North America, Japan and Southeast Asia, respectively.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel