Friendly and Convenient Travel Environment
Friendly, convenient, and smart travel is an important part of the tourism development goals in Taiwan. To this end, the Tourism Bureau has promoted a number of measures over the years, including the introduction of the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle, Taiwan Tour Bus, Taiwan Pass, and i-center tourism information systems and other brands to create a top-notch travel environment.
“Taiwan Tourist Shuttle” tour bus service to scenic spots
The Tourism Bureau provides guidance to county and city governments and national scenic area administrations in planning direct and convenient transportation and travel services to popular visitor sites for domestic and foreign travelers who do not want to drive long distances or join tour groups. The shuttles offer the most direct links to these sites with affordable fares and easy-to-catch buses. To supervise the provision of excellent service, the Tourism Bureau conducts a satisfaction assessment of each route every year and commends outstanding units.
In 2021, assistance was provided to 20 county and city governments and nine national scenic area administrations in launching 61 Taiwan Tourist Shuttle routes, including 48 accessible routes and 50 routes with bicycle carry-on service (for general, folding, and dismantlable bicycles) service, with a total accumulated ridership of nearly 2.66 million passengers over the year. The shuttles provide domestic and foreign travelers direct and convenient round-trip service between major public transportation hubs and popular scenic sites. They also offer more than 160 special package tickets combining travel with dining, lodging, touring, shopping, and travel so travelers can experience Taiwan's unique charm.
The Taiwan Tourist Shuttle introduced a digital guide service and multilingual station broadcast system. The shuttle website also provides information on accessible route schedules and a channel for requesting accessible services. The website added a "Bicycle Tour" section with information on routes with bicycle carry-on service, cycling routes, bicycle rental shops, and other information. The shuttles also provide dynamic information searches during travel to facilitate trip planning, among other value-added services.
Taiwan Tour Bus
The Tourism Bureau provides guidance to tourism operators in the planning and design of branded Taiwan Tour Bus package tours meeting high service quality and operating standards. The buses provide domestic and foreign tourists fast, convenient, and friendly scheduled guided transportation service from hotels and transport hubs to Taiwan's tourism areas. The full transportation service focuses on "in-depth travel" for one to four people, providing the ultimate in convenience.
In 2021, the Taiwan Tour Bus shifted focus to in-depth travel to meet domestic tourism demand. In cooperation with 25 travel agencies, the service planned innovative experience tours with six major themes: health and healing (23 routes), culture and history (11 routes) internet celebrity check-in (24 routes), hot topic events (eight routes), indigenous cultural (four routes), and secret getaways (20 routes), as well as 11 half-day tours, 60 one-day tours, and 19 two-day tours. The themed itineraries are integrated with tourism circle resources, including local cuisine, activities, and other methods to let visitors deeply experience local culture.
Taiwan Pass
In 2021, county and city governments continued, despite COVID, to develop, maintain, operate, and market classic and in-depth tourism products through the Taiwan Pass system, providing a soft power foundation for post-COVID product packaging and sales. The system handled a total of 209,404 transactions, with sales amounting to NT$81,885,233.
Taichung Taiwan Pass
Taitung Taiwan Pass
K.P.P Taiwan Pass
T.N.K. region Taiwan Pass
Yilan Taiwan Pass
Tainan Taiwan Pass
i-center tourism service system and Information Station
To provide domestic and foreign tourists with fast and convenient access to tourism and travel information, the Tourism Bureau assists local governments in establishing the "i" logo i-center Travel Service System at major transport terminals and stations and visitor sites at national scenic areas throughout Taiwan.
Information service centers provide various services according to local characteristics and service type. They include three Level 1 Tourism Bureau managed tourist service centers located at the Taoyuan, Kaohsiung, and Songshan international airports; 55 Level 2 visitor information centers located at major domestic transportation hubs such as train stations, HSR stations, airports, and MRT stations, or managed by local governments with assistance from the Tourism Bureau; and 60 Level 3 visitor centers located at major visitor sites in national scenic areas or managed by administrations under the Tourism Bureau.
Moreover, to create a high-quality and friendly tourism environment and promote Taiwan's warm tradition of hospitality, the Tourism Bureau formed cross-industry partnerships to help county and city governments and national scenic area administrations to select and guide the establishment of information stations by the private and public sectors to provide local travel information and consulting services.
