Taipei, Sept. 18 (CNA) Bosnia and Herzegovina will attend the annual Taipei International Travel Fair for the first time, the head of the fair's preparation committee said Monday.
Su Cheng-tien attributed Bosnia's planned presence at the fair, slated for Oct. 27-30, to Taiwan's strong outbound travel market, as a growing number of Taiwanese have traveled abroad in past years, including to emerging tourist destinations such as the Balkan country.
Bosnia is among the 68 countries that have registered to attend the 2017 Taipei travel fair, the most ever, Taiwan Visitors Association data showed.
Bahrain is another country that could be a new face at this year's show. It has expressed its intention to join the fair but has not yet made a final decision on whether to come or not, the association said.
The 2017 edition of the Taipei travel fair will also attract several countries such as Paraguay, Chile, the Solomon Islands and Egypt that have been absent from the event for years but decided to come this year, the association said.
Information on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' website shows that Taiwan passport holders enjoy visa-free access to Bosnia, but there are currently no direct flights between Taiwan and that country.
The Taipei International Travel Fair, the most popular travel fair in the Asia-Pacific region, had 950 exhibitors from over 60 countries and regions and attracted more than 361,000 visitors in 2016, with more than NT$3 billion (US$99.6 million) in transactions taking place.
This year the fair will be held from Oct. 27 to 30 at Exhibition Hall 1 and Hall 3 of the Taipei World Trade Center. Some 3,300 limited early bird tickets, priced at NT$150 (about US$5) each, will be available at four convenience store chains on Sept. 25 and 26.
