Taiwan bans its citizens of travelling to the Philippines

TAIPEI - On May 9, Taiwan reported that the shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by the Philippines navy was fatal to his citizen who died. Although the Philippines Navy denied being involved into the accident, it prompted an immediate reply from the Taiwanese Cabinet who called for sanctions. The Cabinet issued a red travel alert for the Philippines on Wednesday, advising Taiwanese nationals not to travel anymore to its neighbouring country.
Last year 216,000 Taiwanese visited  the Philippines, making the Island the fifth largest incoming market for the Phillipines. A boycott is likely to have an impact –although limited in time- on Philippines’ tourism revenues.

According to Central News Agency, Taiwan, The Cabinet issued the highest-level travel warning in Taiwan's four-tier advisory system, in its second wave of sanctions against the Philippines, saying that country's government had failed to show "sufficient sincerity" in its handling of the shooting incident.

Taiwan official Tourism Bureau advised travel agents to fully refund travellers who are forced to cancel trips to the Philippines because of the travel alert. The bureau said it has no immediate estimate of the number Taiwanese travelers likely to be affected, but added that the Philippines were not a popular destination for Taiwanese visitors.

Other sacntions include the exclusion of Philippine nationals from the Taiwan Scholarship and the Huayu (Chinese language) Enrichment Scholarship programs; the Council of Agriculture (COA) also said it will halt bilateral exchanges with the Philippines in the agricultural and fishery sectors, including technical assistance. Work between local regional governments has also been suspended.

Sourced: TravelDailyNews