Taipei, Nov. 2 (CNA) A marked increase in Taiwanese nationals visiting the United Kingdom has resulted from the visa-free exemption introduced last year, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official said Tuesday.
A total of 80,935 Taiwanese visited the U.K. in 2009, reported James Lee, director-general of the MOFA's Department of European Affairs, at a regular briefing. This represented a 56-percent increase over the 51,930 in 2008, he said, citing statistics of the U.K. Border Agency.
"The number of the short-term visitors showed a 107-percent rise from 2008 to 2009, and a 150-percent increase -- from 18,655 to 46,720 -- if business travelers are differentiated from short-term visitors, " Lee said.
Relations between Taiwan and the U.K. have become closer since the U.K. granted Taiwanese visa-free privileges in March 2009, Lee said.
According to Lee, the number of students traveling to the U.K. for short period of study also increased, up 70 percent from 1,940 in 2008 to 3,305 in 2009. (By Chris Wang) enditem/MH