Taipei, Sept. 6 (CNA) Taiwanese tourists remain interested in visiting Northeast Asia despite escalating tensions in the region following the latest nuclear test by North Korea on Sept. 3, local travel agents said Wednesday.
"No negative impact has been reported at all on travel to Japan and South Korea," said Sindy Lin, an analyst for Northeast Asian tourism at the Travel Quality Assurance Association.
Taiwanese tourists seem to be used to threats from North Korea and tend to ignore them when making travel decisions, Lin said.
In fact, thanks to more flight options, travel to Japan is set to rise in the coming few months compared with the same period last year, she said.
"Almost 70 percent of group tours are sold out," she said, attributing the momentum to new charter flight services by Tigerair Taiwan and Far Eastern Air Transport.
The two local carriers offer itineraries to traditionally less accessible tourist areas such as Hanamaki and Tottori, which has attracted much interest from Taiwanese.
In addition, with the launch of two new routes from Taiwan to Sendai and Sapporo later this month by the Japanese budget airline Peach Aviation, independent tourists will have even more travel options to choose from, she said.
Interest in traveling to South Korea is at about the same level as last year and is likely to peak in December when it snows, she added.
