Driving Local Travel with Special Seasonal Events
2024 Taiwan Lantern Festival
Hailed by Discovery Channel as one of the world's top celebrations, the Taiwan Lantern Festival is Taiwan's premier festive attraction. After 16 years, the festival returned in 2024 to Tainan from February 24 to March 10, with displays around THSR Tainan Station, Lin Mo Niang Park, Anping Recreation Wharf, and along the Anping Canal. Spanning 50 hectares, the two themed zones—THSR and Anping—featured more than 300 works. The main lantern, "The Dragon Comes to Taiwan," symbolically invited global visitors. Attendance topped 15.2 million, generating over NT$24.7 billion in surrounding economic activity.
To welcome international visitors and introduce Taiwan's folk traditions, 10,000 limited "2024 Taiwan Lantern Festival Commemorative Gift Bags" were offered from February 22–24 to FIT travelers presenting a passport/ARC and same-day entry proof at visitor centers in Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Songshan Airport, and Kaohsiung International Airport. Each bag contained festival mini lanterns, Year-of-the-Dragon red envelopes, a NT$500 Taiwan PASS transport discount voucher for international visitors, and a NT$300 theme-park coupon—encouraging attendance at the festival and deeper exploration of Taiwan's attractions.
2024 Solar Festival in Taiwan
Responding to changing post-pandemic travel habits, the "Solar Festival in Taiwan" refreshed Taiwan's summer travel resources around the theme "Cool off in the Mountains, Refresh by the Sea." The program integrated signature summer events across national scenic areas and localities, forming cross-industry partnerships to boost Taiwan's summer tourism momentum. The event aimed to spur the development of surrounding industries and establish a new brand for summer festival activities in Taiwan, attracting domestic and international tourists to visit Taiwan during the peak summer season. The event successfully drew 6.7 million visitors, generating an economic output of NT$18.2 billion.
Taiwan Cycling Festival
Leveraging local tourism and transport resources, the Taiwan Cycling Festival promoted 10 marquee rides and events, including the Taiwan KOM Challenge, Formosa 900, Sun Moon Lake Come! Bikeday, Taichung Bicycle Carnival, Slow Cycling Tours of the East Longitudinal Valley, East Coast Mahengheng to Chenggong 168 cycling tour, Light Up Taiwan, Dapeng Bay Light One Bike, Penghu Island-Hopping 101, and Wonderland Siraya Cycling 5 COOL—inviting cyclists from around the world to experience Taiwan's landscapes and local culture.
Taiwan Hot Spring & Fine-Cuisine Carnival
Launched September 14, 2024 in Tainan's Guanziling, the 2024–2025 Taiwan Hot Spring & Fine-Cuisine Carnival adopted a "retro chic" theme, linking 19 hot-spring areas and local partners with special offers to create globally appealing, locally grounded experiences, inviting everyone to come together and enjoy the hot springs.
2024 Taiwan Culinary Exhibition
Held on August 2–5, 2024 at Taipei World Trade Center Hall 1, the "Taiwan Way" themed Taiwan Culinary Exhibition spotlighted "Cuisine + Travel" through chef workshops, celebrity talks, and tour promotions—drawing over 100,000 visits and more than 28 media features.
East Coast Land Arts Festival and Moonlit Sea Concert
The press conference for the 10th East Coast Land Arts Festival was held April 25, 2024 at Huashan's Magic Box in Taipei, featuring art direction centered on the East Coast landscape and a digital "moonlit sea" motif to open the season.
The program presented five on-site artworks, 32 East Taiwan arts-platform events, and eight Moonlit Sea concerts, with more than 27,000 concertgoers—strengthening the region's arts-tourism corridor.
