Yamagata, May 29 (CNA) The number of visitors traveling between Japan and Taiwan is expected to exceed 5 million this year as the two countries step up their efforts to promote tourism, a Taiwanese official said Friday.

David Hsieh (謝謂君), director general of Taiwan's Tourism Bureau, said Taiwan and Japan are good at presenting their culture, history and sports activities as tourist attractions.

Hsieh, who is in Yamagata for the first Taiwan-Japan tourism forum, said that through further bilateral exchanges, the number of visitors traveling between the two countries is expected to rise from about 4.6 million last year to more than 5 million in 2015.

Taiwanese visitors to Japan accounted for 2.97 million of the 4.6 million, which indicated that one in eight Taiwanese visited the neighboring country in 2014, Hsieh said.

He said that while Japan's overall number of outbound travelers fell in 2014 by an annual 15 percent, the number of Japanese visitors to Taiwan increased 3.3 percent annually. Taiwan has become one of top destinations for Japanese tourists, Hsieh said.

At the tourism summit, Norio Yamaguchi, chairman of the Japan Travel and Tourism Association, said he was grateful to the large number of Taiwanese tourists who continue to visit his country.

Last year, Taiwan was the top source of tourist arrivals to Japan, according to the association.

Yamaguchi presented certificates of honor and gifts to Hsieh; Janice Lai (賴瑟珍), head of the Taiwan Visitors Association (TVA); and Taiwan's representative to Japan Shen Ssu-tsun (沈斯淳), in a show of appreciation.

Hsieh said the tourism summit will help strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the tourism industry though exchanges, particularly among the younger generation.

As part of the exchanges, Taiwan will send a team of chefs to Japan in July, with the assistance of the TVA, to promote Taiwanese cuisine.

Also, a model of the landmark Taipei 101 skyscraper will go on display in October in Tobu World Square, a popular tourist spot in eastern Japan.

http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aeco/201505290015.aspx