Modest gains

"So much hard work in coming up with books and instructional materials to efficiently teach the language to young minds had to be exerted."

Over the weekend, the Taiwan government itself reported that the Philippines had received the highest growth rate for outbound tourists from Taiwan, at 55.42 percent for the month of  June and 30.60 percent for January to June departures compared to the same period last year.

With a population of only about 23 million, our own Department of Tourism identified Taiwan as the sixth major source of tourists into the country. In fact, I was told that boat operators and service-oriented workers in El Nido in Palawan already know certain phrases in Mandarin as a result of their close and frequent interaction with Taiwanese tourists.
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Even airlines are capitalizing on these gains, adding more flights to and from the island. Just this week, AirAsia announced that it is opening routes from the south, in Kaohsiung, flying passengers directly to Clark or Cebu. Just about six months earlier,  Tiger Air likewise opened flights to Clark, offering more options for Taiwanese tourists.

Read more: Manila Standard