TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — At a conference in Nagoya Friday (Sept. 8), Taiwan called on Japan to help end the imbalance in post-COVID travel between the two countries.

During January to July, 2.59 million tourists traveled between Taiwan and Japan, but only 400,000 were Japanese, according to Taiwan Visitors Association (TVA) Chair Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭). The number of Taiwanese visiting Japan reached 70% of pre-pandemic figures, though the number of Japanese traveling to Taiwan only stood at 33% of pre-COVID levels for the first half of 2023, per CNA.

Yeh said Taiwan had encouraged tourism by offering subsidies and prizes to visitors and by launching promotional campaigns overseas. The nation was paying attention to the needs of both tour groups and individual travelers, she said.

At the end of the conference, both sides issued the “Aichi Declaration,” setting out the aim of 7 million travelers between the two countries in 2025. The level has already been reached, in 2019, the last year before the pandemic began affecting international travel.

Japan said that in May, it launched projects with 24 countries, including Taiwan, to promote visits by Japanese tourists. The measures included a drawing of vouchers worth 8,000 yen (NT$1,700, US$54) for 3,000 travelers to four countries including Taiwan.