TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan finished the year as the most popular travel destination for searches at Google Vietnam, reports said Wednesday (Dec. 13).

The report came as Taiwan prepared to welcome its 6 millionth visitor of 2023 on Dec. 15, according to Transportation Minister Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材). Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the country registered about 11 million visitors per year, while officials have already set 12 million as the target for 2024.

Vietnamese travelers’ interest in Taiwan might have been partly fueled by domestic airline ticket fares, per CNA. According to Google’s Year in Search, Taiwan topped its list of travel destinations ahead of Thailand, Europe, several Vietnamese cities and provinces, Bali, Singapore, and Malaysia.

The Tourism Administration said almost 332,000 Vietnamese visited Taiwan between January and October, compared to 405,000 in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic.

Travel operators in Vietnam praised Taiwan as a popular destination with friendly people. However, they thought hotels near night markets were too old, while the better hotels were often concentrated outside city centers.

They also hoped the period needed to obtain a visa could be cut down to five days from the present eight.