Next month, Taiwan will end mandatory COVID quarantine for arrivals, the Government announced.
During the COVID pandemic, the island largely closed its borders and enforced strict quarantine measures, which helped reduce infection numbers, even though it cut itself off internationally.
After 100% vaccination, the government shifted from its zero-COVID strategy in April.
According to Lo Ping-cheng, cabinet spokesman, Premier Su Tseng-chang added that starting from October 13, quarantine will be abolished and arrivals will be required to monitor themselves for seven days.
Hotel quarantines are currently mandatory, followed by four days of self-monitoring, in which visitors avoid crowded areas for three days.
Lo also announced that visa-free travel will resume for travellers from certain countries from September 29 and that the ban on tour groups will be lifted in October.
As Taiwan prepares to welcome tourists back, the new measures will facilitate the public’s return to normal life.
Because of Taiwan’s self-monitoring rules, some tourism industry experts expressed concern and said the country will still struggle to attract visitors to the region.
The entire world except for China and Taiwan has opened up, according to Robert Kao, a professor of tourism management and operations at the Tainan University of Technology. Taiwan is already lagging behind other tourist destinations. Moreover, he said that tourists would opt for countries where there are no such restrictions, such as Japan or South Korea, where self-monitoring does not exist.
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