Tourism Bureau, Republic of China (Taiwan)-Taiwan Tourism Bureau's Taiwan Tourism Information Website

Creating Taiwan's Five New "Greats" with Tourism that Starts from the Heart

The Tourism Bureau, Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) held the "2023 Tourism Festival Awards Ceremony" today (Feb. 3) at the International Reception Hall of Grand Hotel Taipei. The ceremony's purpose is to thank 110 groups and their employees from domestic and foreign tourism industries for their unremitting efforts in promoting tourism in Taiwan last year. As various countries have started to relax border restrictions and quarantine measures for COVID, the Taiwanese government announced the easing of border measures, and travelers entering Taiwan would no longer be required to quarantine on arrival starting October 13, 2022. The Tourism Bureau has also lifted travel restrictions and re-opened Taiwan's doors to receive tour groups. The Bureau published the "Guidelines for the Travel Industry on Handling Inbound Group Tours," set up a dedicated cross-border website, and arranged for travel industry practitioners to receive training on pandemic prevention to prepare for the arrival of international tourists.

In 2022, a total of 881,000 tourists visited Taiwan, showing an increase of 527.14% compared to 2021. As for Taiwanese people traveling abroad, the number reached 1.482 million persons, an increase of 311.69%. These numbers show that Taiwan's tourism market is gradually heating up. The government and the tourism industry are working diligently together to innovate and make preparations. Domestic and foreign tourism industry partners are also working closely to maintain the international popularity of Taiwan tourism. Many international awards have recognized the joint efforts of Taiwan's government and its tourism industry, and Taiwan's national scenic areas have been repeatedly awarded international certification for green tourism. These efforts and achievements contribute to the global tourism industry's recognition of Taiwan's quality tourism appeal.

The Tourism Festival Awards ceremony is an important annual event for Taiwan's tourism industry. Vice President Lai attended the event to express his gratitude and appreciation to the tourism industry and also the people of Taiwan who worked together to withstand the pandemic. He also stated that in response to the post-epidemic trend of international tourism development, Taiwan's tourism is moving toward the new normal, and we are ready to welcome tourists again. With the joint efforts of domestic and international practitioners, we look forward to returning Taiwan's international tourism to its pre-pandemic scale.

MOTC Minister Wang Kwo-tsai said it had been three years since the start of the pandemic, and with the support of President Tsai and former Premier Su, the Ministry of Transportation has been able to stabilize the tourism industry and maintain its vitality through relief and revitalization programs. At the same time, the Tourism Bureau actively implements the "Taiwan Tourism 2025 Plan" through five major strategies, namely "creating attractive venues, developing themed tourism, optimizing the industrial environment, promoting digital experience, and expanding the sources of inbound tourists" to complete the construction of highlighted tourism unions, reward the packaging of refined tourism and multi-themed tourism, discover the beauty of Taiwan's mountains and waters, and to guide the digital transformation of the industry. By promoting 17 tourism unions and strengthening cross-regional cooperation, the benefits of such places will spread throughout Taiwan and further assist local creators and youth in returning to their hometowns. After opening Taiwan's borders, we will use new ideas and methods to attract international tourists to Taiwan, focusing first on Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asian countries for the first wave of promotions. We hope to reach the goal of 6 million visitors to Taiwan this year.

The "Outstanding Contribution Award" was presented to Ms. Yeh Chu-lan, Chairwoman of the Taiwan Visitors Association, and Mr. Bao-tien Wu, Chairman of Lih Pao Group, at the ceremony this year. When Ms. Yeh was the Minister of MOTC in 2000, she proposed the "New Strategy for Developing Tourism in Taiwan in the 21st Century" and the "Doubling Tourist Numbers Plan." She also formulated Taiwan's first "Tourism Policy White Paper." Twenty years later, the Taiwan Visitors Association, in cooperation with the Tourism Bureau, prepared the "Taiwan Tourism 2030: Taiwan Tourism Policy White Paper." Ms. Yeh is the general advisor of the white paper project and organized an expert group to collect feedback from the industry. With the vision of "tourism as a nation," she planned the development blueprint and goals for the next decade, hoping to promote Taiwan as a tourist country. With her expertise and rich experience in advertising and marketing, Ms. Yeh has set up cross-platform meetings for Taiwan tourism promotion and traveled to major international travel shows to promote Taiwan. She has also hosted the Taiwan-Japan Tourism Summit and the Taiwan-Korea Tourism Exchange Conference to promote Taiwan diplomacy through tourism. The other winner of the "Outstanding Contribution Award" is the Chairman of Lih Pao Group, Mr. Wu, who built the local hotel brand—Fullon Hotel. Since 2016, the hotel has been awarded the World Branding Award by the World Brand Forum, a British non-profit organization, for five consecutive years. It is the first hotel in Taiwan to receive this honor. The Group also invested more than ten billion NT dollars in establishing the Lih Pao Resort, which has brought ten million visitors a year and driven the development of the surrounding industries. In addition, the Group actively supports the government in building public facilities in Kenting, at the Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf, and Fulong, on the Northeast coast of Taiwan. These projects are successful examples of cooperation between the public sector and private enterprises that effectively promote local tourism development, revitalize the local economy, and drive tourism.

Seven awards were granted at the ceremony to honor individuals and organizations for their outstanding performance and contribution to the development of tourism in Taiwan in the past year. The awards include the "Award for Contribution to Taiwan Tourism," "Outstanding Tourism Organization Award," "Outstanding Tourism Industry Professional Award," "Outstanding Tourism Practitioner Award," "Enthusiastic Group & Individual Award," "Industry Supervision and Assessment Competition Award," and "Outstanding County and City Management Counseling Assessment of Hotels and B&Bs." We hope to unite the domestic and foreign tourism industry to work together for the post-pandemic development of Taiwan's tourism.

This year's event is launched with the theme of "Starting from the Heart—Taking Off with Tourism." The "Taiwan Lantern Festival," "Taiwan Culinary Exhibition," "Taiwan Cycling Festival," "Taiwan Summer Tourism Festival," "Taiwan Hot Spring," and other themed tourism events are incorporated to start the heart of Taiwan's tourism. The guests were invited to take a group photo holding signs for different brands and tourism unions, symbolizing the Tourism Bureau's strategies for promoting multi-themed tourism, guiding the tourism industry, and promoting the tourism unions to create an irresistible Taiwan. We hope to attract travelers from around the globe in this post-pandemic era and return Taiwan's tourism to its former glory.