Ministry of Economic Affairs: Night Market Voucher Policy Effectively Boosts Night Market Crowds

In response to public concern over the effectiveness of the night market voucher policy, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday (the 3rd) that the night market voucher policy ended use on February 29, 2020. As of March 2, more than 6.73 million vouchers had been redeemed, with the amount exceeding 330 million yuan, estimated to have created more than 1 billion yuan in business opportunities.

According to a Tourism Bureau survey, in the past, when Taiwanese people traveled, the rate of visiting night markets was about 10 percent. Now, with the expanded autumn and winter domestic travel accommodation subsidy plus the issuance of night market vouchers, the rate of visiting night markets has reached 65 percent, six times the past rate, achieving the policy goal of revitalizing the grassroots economy. Night market vendors also reported that business performance increased by 30 to 40 percent compared with the past.

Kuo Kun-ming, director of the Ministry of Economic Affairs Central Region Office, said that night market vouchers have received welcome and support from many night market vendors and consumers. A total of 10.33 million vouchers were issued across Taiwan, and more than 6.73 million were redeemed, for a redemption rate as high as 65 percent. By region, redemptions were 1,583,469 in the northern region (23.5 percent), 1,279,001 in the central region (19 percent), 2,305,844 in the southern region (34.3 percent), and 1,563,870 in the eastern region (23.2 percent). Especially in key areas such as the south and east, considerable consumer benefits were created. The top 5 night markets by redemption rate, in order, were Dongdamen Night Market in Hualien, Garden Night Market in Tainan, Liuhe Night Market in Kaohsiung, Fengjia Tourist Night Market in Taichung, and Wenhua Road Night Market in Chiayi City.

Regarding public and legislative concern about the 65 percent redemption rate, the Ministry of Economic Affairs pointed out that from the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications tourism market survey, it can be seen that when Taiwanese people traveled, among their main recreational activities, snacks accounted for 11.6 percent in 2017 and 10.6 percent in 2018. Compared with the overall benefit of the 65 percent redemption rate for night market vouchers, driving people to visit night markets was six times the past rate, an increase of nearly 55 percent in performance. This shows that night market vouchers drove business opportunities and created considerable travel accommodation and consumption benefits.