Foreword

Strengthening Tourism Competitiveness, Creating a High-quality Tourism Environment, and Highlighting the Advantages of Local Industry

Preparing for the post-COVID tourism boom with "Taiwan's Five Advantages"

In 2021, the tourism industry began to see some light amid the world-ravaging COVID outbreak as widespread vaccinations began to bring the pandemic under control. In response to COVID, the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications launched a series of measures in 2020 to revitalize and stabilize the tourism industry and domestic tourism. In 2021, the Domestic Travel Voucher program was launched to boost the benefits of the Executive Yuan's Quintuple Voucher stimulus program. The bureau encouraged creativity and marketing by the tourism industry, provided subsidies for group and theme tours, and expanded the use of the Quintuple Vouchers for tourism consumption. These efforts generated more than NT$21.6 billion in tourism revenue.

The post-COVID era marks a critical juncture for fundamental adjustments in the tourism industry. In line with Executive Yuan policy, the Tourism Bureau has accelerated work to develop tourism services and facilities during the pandemic to prepare Taiwan's tourism industry to shine with a brand new look in the post-COVID era. It is also adjusting its strategy for the new normal in the post-COVID tourism sector, shifting priority to development in the three core conceptual areas: digital transformation, new post-COVID products, and sustainable tourism. We are readying regional tourism features and improving attraction quality, while also helping the industry to develop theme tourism products, optimize operations, and train professional talent. Furthermore, we are working to increase the use of digital technology, coordinate the regional development of tourism circles, position marketing strategies tailored to specific markets and visitor groups, package high-quality tours, prioritize precision marketing in international target markets, accelerate recovery of the inbound market, and enhance the overall service quality and international competitiveness of Taiwan tourism.

In addition, the Tourism Bureau continues to implement the Executive Yuan-approved Taiwan Tourism 2025 campaign in line with global trends and based on Taiwan's economy and COVID control and safety. The bureau is promoting industrial transformation, invigorating the domestic travel market, and highlighting a new outlook rooted in the "Taiwan's Five Advantages": 1) building "Taiwan's Abundant Charm" through high-quality tourism services and facilities, 2) showing "Taiwan's Broad Diversity" through policy-guided cross-domain integration; 3) upgrading "Taiwan's Excellent Service" through industry transformation, optimization, and linkages; 4) facilitating "Taiwan's Convenient Travel" through smart travel driven by digital applications; and 5) building "Taiwan's Strong Attraction" through precision marketing aimed at raising Taiwan's online visibility. These initiatives aim to transform the quality of domestic tourism and rekindle a local love affair with domestic travel. They also highlight Taiwan's unique local charms to attract international visitors and show the world our local pride.

With the publication of this annual report, we hope to present the joint efforts of the Tourism Bureau and tourism industry in 2021 to prepare Taiwan's tourism sector for the post-COVID era. The report showcases the ways that Taiwan's local tourism features and the creative energy of the tourism industry are driving new tourism momentum, first to elevate domestic tourism and then to seize opportunities in the international tourism market.