TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The National Palace Museum (NPM) hopes to increase its number of visitors to 3.5 million next year, reports said Thursday (Dec. 28).

During 2023, 1.52 million people visited the original museum in Taipei City, while its newer southern branch in Chiayi County received 940,000 visitors, per CNA. The Taipei branch is planning to open on 15 Mondays to help reach the 2024 goal.

Almost half the Taipei museum’s visitors were foreigners, with South Korea replacing Japan as the largest source of sightseers, according to NPM Hsiao Tsung-huang (蕭宗煌). As a result, the museum decided to set up a Korean-language version of its website and to sell publications in Korean.

The major innovation in 2023 was the introduction of visits by cruise passengers, Hsiao said. Because cruise ships did not enforce weight limits on luggage, cruise passengers were often eager to purchase many souvenirs.

Taiwan’s 6 millionth visitor for 2023 arrived in the country by plane from Singapore on Dec. 15. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the country registered about 11 million visitors per year, while the government set the target for next year at 12 million.