Taiwan cracks down on unlicensed rentals

Taiwan’s tourism stakeholders are on a relentless campaign to clamp down on the unlicensed rentals, with “non-supportive platforms” facing fines – and now also the prospect of being named-and-shamed on a tourism bureau website.

Earlier this week, over 500 tour operators from around Taiwan gathered at a Taiwan Tourism Bureau (TTB) press conference in support of the government’s stance against unlicensed rentals, which they believe compromise the safety of travellers and Taiwan’s image.

“Taiwan has more than tens of thousands of legal hotels and B&Bs, which means that there is enough hotel supply in the travel market,” Ez Travel said in a statement.

“The responsibility of travel agencies should be actively developing and cooperating with legal hotels, thereby creating a win-win situation for the tourism industry. The consumer disputes arising from the sales of cheap and unlicensed rentals would create a negative impact on the image of the travel agencies and cause a great loss for them.”

At the press conference, the TTB announced that the government will conduct stringent inspections on property owners of unlicensed rentals in an effort to provide safe accommodation for international tourists.

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