General merchandise sales grew 7.2 percent year-on-year, department store sales were up 10.3 percent, supermarket sales rose 6.6 percent and convenience store sales jumped 21.3 percent, ministry data showed. “All we can say is that as of July 27, NT$4.48 billion in vouchers had been redeemed for cash from banks by vendors,” he said. People have also been dining out and buying iced drinks, with restaurant sales last month rising 1 percent year-on-year to NT$58.2 billion, the highest July figure on record. “Ideally, you want the businesses that accept the vouchers to keep them in circulation, spending them like cash again,” Wu said. “Usually about 10 million to 20 million Taiwanese travel abroad every year,” he said.

Source: Taipei Times August 25, 2020 15:56 UTC