TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The U.S. is seeing strong growth in the number of Taiwanese visiting America, said American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Kaohsiung Branch Principal Commercial Officer Dave Averne on Thursday (Sept. 7) at a tourism promotion seminar.

The event was held at the Chateau De Chine Kaohsiung and organized by AIT and the Discover America Committee (DAC) to encourage two-way travel between the U.S. and Taiwan. It was the first post-pandemic travel industry briefing held in southern Taiwan by DAC.

Averne said that according to the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO), “Taiwan travel to the U.S. is coming back very strong.” He said the number of Taiwanese visiting the U.S. has jumped from 49,000 to 137,000, without giving specific dates.

According to NTTO data, the top three reasons Taiwanese go to the U.S. are to visit friends and relatives, business and trade shows, and education. Averne said there are currently 20,487 Taiwanese students studying in the U.S., who have contributed US$700 million (NT$22.45 billion) to the American economy.

The AIT official said the number of Taiwanese traveling to the U.S. is expected to increase in the second half of the year.

He also pointed out that Taiwanese and American airlines are increasing routes between the two countries. In October, United Airlines will begin a second daily flight between San Francisco and Taoyuan, Averne said. He also mentioned there are currently direct flights from Taiwan to nine U.S. cities.

In addition to Averne, representatives from Brand USA, Visit California, Montana, Guam, Disney Destinations, Holland America Line, AVIS Car Rental, Delta Airlines, and United Airlines also gave presentations promoting travel to the U.S.