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★ DW (Germany), 2022-10-22: Taiwan has reopened its borders to overseas visitors. However, the number of inbound travelers remains capped at 150,000 per week, and the government has banned tourists from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau  dw.com/en/taiwan-now-open-to-visitors-without-quarantine/video-63527555
★ AFP (France), 2022-10-13: Taiwan welcomes foreign tour groups as border fully reopens /  three days of hotel quarantine have been replaced with seven days of "self-monitoring" where tourists are expected to keep an eye on their health and wear face masks indoors and outdoors...tourists must submit to regular tests for a week after their arrival and cannot enter bars and restaurants for the first three days news.yahoo.com/taiwan-welcomes-foreign-tour-groups-035747205.html
★ SCMP (Hong Kong), 2022-10-1:  As Taiwan eases some of world’s oldest quarantine rules, remaining curbs and concerns see airlines lament ‘half step forward’... Travellers will be allowed outside during the seven-day period if their Covid tests come back negative every two days, but analysts say testing remains a 'deterrent to travel' ... Spending by inbound tourists in Taiwan in 2020, down by 87.51 per cent from 2019... The weekly cap on arrivals will "hamper a full-fledged recovery" in Taiwan's tourism msn.com/en-xl/travel/other/as-taiwan-eases-some-of-world-e2-80-99s-oldest-quarantine-rules-remaining-curbs-and-concerns-see-airlines-lament-e2-80-98half-step-forward-e2-80-99/ar-AA12tLJi

★ NY Times, 2022-8-18: Taiwanese cuisine — layered, distinct, multiethnic ...has been shaped by many cultural forces, including the island's Indigenous tribes,  long-established groups of Fujianese and Hakka people; Japanese ;  Chinese immigrants in 1949+...   nytimes.com/2022/08/16/dining/taiwanese-cuisine.html
　

★ National Geographic, 2022-7-6: Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyakazi denies that Jiufen (Taiwan) was an inspiration, but many have drawn a connection between the town’s ... resemblance to the settings in the 2001 film Spirited Away (《千與千尋》,《神隱少女》,（日语：千と千尋の神隠し）, an Oscar-winning animated feature).   nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/exploring-the-magic-of-taiwans-spirited-away-city

　

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World Economic Forum (WEF)  <Travel and tourism competitiveness report> released at 9-4-2019
   Taiwan's travel & tourism  -  ranks 10th in Asia    

category	Taiwan's rankings and/or score	comparison
prioritization of travel and tourism	No75	Singapore No.6 ,  Hong Kong No. 11
Natural & cultural resources	No.58  score 2.6	China  No.1, score 6.0 , France No.2,  5.0,  Spain  No.3, 5.7,   Japan No.7, 5.3,   Indonesia No.18,  Thailand No.21,  Korea No.24,  Vietnam No.26,  Malaysia No.31,  HK No.40,  Philippines No.46,  Sri Lanka No.52,  Nepal No.56
Natural resources	No. 87	Hong Kong No. 42, Singapore No.120
cultural resources & business travel	No. 36  score 2.6	China No1, score 7.0
price competitiveness	No. 78	China 5.7
Health & Hygiene	No.43,  score 6	score worse than Korea, Japan, Mongolia
international openness	No. 60	only better than China, Mongolia
Safety & security	No. 26	human resource & labor market: Taiwan No.18

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The statistics before CovID-19 and China suspending independent Chinese tourists to Taiwan talk the exact things - 
BBC (2019-7-31): Chinese tourists account for the largest proportion of foreign tourists - because - L.A. Times (2019-8-1) listed several reasons (1) it’s about strong cultural and deep historic connection across the [Taiwan Strait].  “Most Chinese in my generation grow up with many Taiwanese novels, drama, variety shows and songs." coming to Taiwan satisfies a curiosity they had felt since reading about Taiwan as children  (2) They revel in religious, architectural and cultural similarities  (3)  They take home new information from Taiwan’s newspapers, news websites and television channels, all free of censorship.  Besides, flights of no more than 2~3 hours, and stoking business.  
By contrast, tourists from North and South America only account for about 6%~ 8%, Europe 3% ~ 4% of all int'l tourists. 
　

A ruling party friendly news, the Liberty Times, editorial (2020-6-15): Taiwanese have always preferred traveling overseas to domestic tour.
Media like LTN, Apple Daily, Storm (2022-3-30),  United Daily, Economic Daily (2022-9-10, udn.com/news/story/7338/6601661?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2 )  , analyze WHY Taiwan's tourism is sluggish.
 n(1) transportation problem (particularly for those newly found hidden scenic spots) n (2) a small country has no many natural attractions  n(3) catering and accommodation problems - few local government can properly guide tourists by such as star-rating, therefore lots of traps are out there   n(4). Accommodation, catering, and transportation are generally expensive but of poor quality.  n(5) The tour often lacks humanistic and cultural connotations, as well as ethnic traditions and lifestyles.   there is a lack of in-depth tourism to explore geographical, cultural and ethnic characteristics.  n (6) Lacking market segmentation -  among night markets, or old streets vs. night markets.  n (7) the government does not pay attention to the tourism industry, "inadequate resource integration capabilities, insufficient investment, and insufficient marketing"
　

  Some top foreign media introduced Taiwan's attractions:
　

♣  MSN, 2022-11-1:  Best Tourist Spots in Taiwan  1. Sun Moon Lake,Taiwan's largest alpine lake  2. Kenting National Park,  The annual Spring Scream Festival also takes place in early April and draws thousands of music-lovers each year.   3. Alishan National Scenic Area    4. Taroko Gorge ...the gorge's vertical cliffs and winding tunnels come so close together    5. Jiufen and Shifen    6. Kinmen Islands   https://msn.com/en-sg/travel/news/post-restrictions-travel-guide-to-taiwan/ar-AA13z1Bl

♣  L.A. Times, 2018-2-18:  National Palace Museum - you can browse among some of the 600,000-plus artworks and artifacts — centuries of cultural wealth — that Chiang's people had spirited away from  China's Forbidden City 70 years ago (ps: Young people may not like old stuffs) ,  Taipei 101 (but no longer world tallest building) ,  Din Tai Fung (already degraded by Michelin Guide for a few years, no longer a star-restaurant) , Longshan Temple (a small temple), Shilin night market (Taiwan's night markets don't have same Michelin honors as those street food in Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau have )  ,  Chiang Kai-shek Memorial (Taiwan's parliament passed a law that calls for erasing Chiang's name and likeness from landmarks across the island) ,  Pingxi sky lantern ( biodegradable lanterns can be incredibly harmful to both the environment and wildlife. Sky lantern litter takes quite some time to decompose, and the wire frames have been known to strangle and maim wild animals and livestock. They may pose a  fire hazard),  You might feel the ground shake (Not too often, you may not feel it)   dailypress.com/life/la-tr-taipei-20180218-story.html

♣ USA Today, 2020-11-21 (usatoday.com/story/news/world/2020/11/21/taiwans-relatively-covid-free-life-attracts-skilled-expats/6322040002/) :  Foreign professionals run up against a protectionist mentality in e-commerce segments such as ride-hailing and home-sharing services like Uber and Airbnb.  Taiwan’s English fluency lags Hong Kong and Singapore.  In one of the most densely populated places on Earth, people live so packed together in apartment blocks that a neighbor's footfall upstairs or roadwork just outside easily overpower the sound of one's own TV.

♣  New York Times, 2008-3-2: The National Palace Museum is considered by many to be the finest repository of Chinese art in the world,  the 1,670-foot Taipei 101,

Da An Park - the largest public park in Taipei (a median sized park with little flowers) , Beitou , renowned for its hot springs resorts, some modeled after those in Japan (some are good), Din Tai Fung, a mandatory stop on Taiwan's restaurant scene, Longshan Temple, shaved ice topped with fresh mango, strawberry or kiwi at Ice Monster in Yongkang Street.  nytimes.com/2008/03/02/travel/02hours.html