Maintaining Momentum, Soundly Developing
The Central Epidemic Command Center temporarily closed Taiwan's borders to international visi-tors due to the COVID-19 outbreak. During the pandemic, the Tourism Bureau actively promot-ed Taiwan as a preferred post-pandemic destination for international tourists. The campaign aimed to maintain Taiwan's tourism visibility among international visitors, give international tour-ists peace of mind over traveling in Taiwan, facilitate recovery and growth of Taiwan's inbound tourism market, develop international tourist sources, and increase tourism revenue.
Strengthening Promotional Activities
During the pandemic, the Tourism Bureau and its overseas offices continued online and offline promotional activities, online education, training, and exchanges, participation in online travel exhibitions, and joint promotions with online travel celebrities and travel platforms in various countries. The Bureau promoted Taiwan tourism through online ads, publicized Taiwan tourism attractions, highlighted Taiwan's success in COVID-19 controls, and maintained the global visibil-ity of Taiwan tourism. In 2020, it participated in and organized about 500 marketing promotion events and 20 OTA cooperation cases and produced about 70 types of promotional souvenirs.
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Enhancing Promotional Activities in 2020
marketing promotions
OTA cooperation projects
promotional souvenir items
Northeast Asia market
Japan market
All large festival events were suspended in Japan due to an emergency declaration by the government. During the home quarantine period in Japan, the Tourism Bureau launched an online activity allowing people to travel virtually to Taiwan from home. The activity involved a game with a "Taiwan Pass" certification to deepen understanding of Taiwan's energy among the Japanese people. The Tourism Bureau also arranged an online B2B Taiwan tourism seminar to create opportunities for exchanges between Taiwan and Japanese businesses during the pandemic and provide updated information on Taiwan tourism. The Tourism Bureau was first among na-tional tourism administrations to hold an outdoor in-person promotion event in Tokyo after the pandemic subsided. It arranged a Taiwan tourism photo exhibition at Eslite Spectrum Nihonbashi to promote Taiwanese culture and creativity. It also capitalized on Japanese sporting events by arranging a "Taiwan Day" activity with the Seibu Lions baseball team. Sachiko Kobayashi gener-ated buzz by kicking off the activity.
The Tourism Bureau participated in the "Tourism EXPO Japan 2020—Okinawa Resort Show," Japan's largest travel exhibition, from October 29 to November 1. The Taiwan Pavilion was based on the concept of a "virtual visit abroad" and designed like an airplane cabin. Displays were arranged into seven areas highlighting national, regional, and indigenous attractions giving visitors a chance to experience the fun of traveling in Taiwan. An Instagram photo contest was broadcast live online during the exhibition to increase the benefits of Taiwan tourism promotion.
The Tourism Bureau arranged a Japanese version of the online "Home Epidemic Prevention Tai-wan Pass" activity.
Sachiko Kobayashi, dressed as the goddess Matsu, prays for the end of the pandemic during the Seibu Taiwan Day event.
Eslite Spectrum Nihonbashi hosted a "Meet Colors Taiwan" event.
B2B Taiwan Tourism online information briefing
The Tourism Bureau participated in Japan's largest Tourism EXPO Japan 2020—Resort Exhibi-tion from October 29 to November 1, 2020.
South Korea market
Continuing its 2019 campaign in South Korea, the Tourism Bureau promoted Taiwan tour-ism through videos and print materials highlighting the positive, healthy and energetic image of spokesperson Ok Taecyeon. In response to the pandemic, the Tourism Bureau strengthened online advertising and promotions to sustain interest in Taiwan among the Korean people and ac-celerate recovery of visitor volumes from Korea to Taiwan once borders reopen after the pan-demic.
Online advertising in Korea
Online advertising in Korea
Europe and the Americas market
To maintain the strength and visibility of Taiwan's tourism brand in long-haul markets, the Tourism Bureau continued to cooperate with key opinion leaders (KOLs) and independent social media channels on print and online media exposure in target markets. It also collaborated with world-class media channels on projects to market Taiwan tourism themes to different age groups and keep Taiwan's beautiful scenery and unique culture fresh in people's minds. In the B2B seg-ment, the Bureau consolidated cooperation with travel agencies arranging outbound visits from target markets. It strengthened online workshops, education, and training to deepen industry un-derstanding of Taiwan's attractions and itineraries, and bolstered cooperation with OTA platforms to help inbound visitor volumes quickly recover after the pandemic.
US internet celebrities were invited to produce 15 short Taiwan tourism videos and promote them through social media and TV ads.
The Tourism Bureau collaborated with Britain's Channel 5 on filming an episode of the World's Most Scenic Railway Journeys. Taiwan was the first East Asian country to appear on the program.
Coinciding with the Year of Mountain Tourism theme, the Tourism Bureau and CNN cooperated in filming a video featuring New Zealand ultrarunner Ruth Croft. The video presented the true story of Taiwan's mountains and reached potential visitors from the US, New Zealand, and Aus-tralia.
Southeast Asia market
The Tourism Bureau strengthened market-segmented international promotions in conjunc-tion with the New Southbound Policy to maintain the visibility of Taiwan tourism. Promotions were delivered mainly online during the pandemic. The Bureau strengthened digital marketing supported by offline activities. It also completed Vietnamese and Thai versions of the official Taiwan tourism website and enriched the content of special language websites. Taiwan tourism was further promoted through multimedia channels in partnership with various market players, internet celebrities, vloggers, and cross-industry alliances. In Thailand, for example, the Tourism Bureau was the first to use “Clubhouse,” a locally popular social platform, to invite bloggers, OTAs, airlines, and internet users to discuss interesting topics related to Taiwan tourism. It invited Vietnamese students studying in Taiwan to arrange a TikTok video competition called "What's New in Taiwan." It formed a cross-industry alliance between six bubble milk tea chains with a total of 90 branches in Singapore (Tiger Sugar, Wushiland Boba, Milkshop, OneZo, Ten Ren Tea, and The Alley) and China Airlines to launch a "Drink Bubble Tea, Visit Taiwan" promotion. The campaign asked Singaporeans to submit photos of their first-choice tourist destination after the pandemic and arranged a lottery giving bubble tea buyers a chance to win a free plane ticket to Taiwan. The Bureau also arranged online B2B travel fairs for Taiwanese and Indonesian travel agencies to maintain Taiwan's visibility. A total of 124 online and offline events were arranged.
Eyeing Muslim markets, the Tourism Bureau again invited actress Mira Filzah to serve as spokesperson for its "Salam Taiwan 2.0" PR campaign aimed at promoting Taiwan's Muslim-friendly image. In Taiwan, the Bureau continued to build a friendly tourism environment. In 2020, it launched its first outsourced plan to improve the environment for Muslim tourism in Taiwan. The plan involved additional guidance to the hotel industry, support for halal and Mus-lim-friendly environment certification at transportation hubs and well-known scenic sites, advance preparation and optimization of the environment for receiving Muslim visitors, and preparation for attracting Muslim visitors when borders reopen after the pandemic.
The Tourism Bureau partnered with bubble tea brand Tiger Sugar and China Airlines to hold the "Drink Bubble Tea, Visit Taiwan" event in Singapore.
Vietnamese version of the "What's New in Taiwan" TikTok video competition
Muslim actress Mira Filzah visited Taiwan to shoot five Malaysian language Taiwan tourism pro-motion on the themes of food, shopping, ecology, LOHAS, and culture as spokesperson for the Salam Taiwan 2.0 campaign in Malaysia and Brunei.
Greater China Market
Promotions in the Greater China market focused mainly on Hong Kong and deeply pene-trated daily life in the city. The Tourism Bureau partnered with Taiwanese restaurants and com-panies in Hong Kong to distribute promotional materials on Taiwan tourism events and themed travel books, and also arranged small-scale tourism seminars and pop-up fairs. The Bureau invit-ed Taiwan travel writer Liu Ke-hsiang, Frogfree, and others to introduce hiking trails, island-round cycling tours, local cultural and creative brands, and other topics in Taiwan through online channels to prepare travelers for post-pandemic travel. On November 6-8, it participated in the International Travel Expo in Macao, a city that has been successful in COVID-19 prevention and controls. The Bureau also cooperated with local travel agencies to pre-sell Taiwan travel promo-tional products. Online videos were produced for Taiwanese companies to "cloud promote" in-digenous culture and rural kitchen tours to the Macao public.
In the mainland China market, the Tourism Bureau focused on stabilizing online visibility and improving the simplified Chinese website content and social media posts to maintain the high online profile of Taiwan tourism.
Media coverage of the Taste of Taiwan Pop up Fair
Hong Kong International Travel Expo
Promoting International Bilateral Exchange and Cooperation
The Tourism Bureau arranged bilateral video conferences with Japan, Vietnam, and South Korea that focused on promoting mutual cooperation and restoring markets on both sides after the pan-demic.
Japan: During the pandemic, the Tourism Bureau held online meetings with government heads in Japan's Mie, Kagawa, Gifu, and Yamaguchi prefectures to discuss future cooperation and ex-changes after borders reopen.
Vietnam: The Tourism Bureau held a bilateral video conference with the Vietnam National Ad-ministration of Tourism on August 26. The two sides discussed their COVID-19 status and poli-cies, as well as policies related to tourism industry relief and promotion. They reached a consensus on expanding cooperation after the epidemic to strengthen joint marketing, food-related ex-changes, and website cross-promotion.
Korea: The Tourism Bureau continued to arrange online meetings with travel agents during the pandemic to understand agency trends and prepare for the post-pandemic recovery.
Video conference with the governors of four prefectures in Japan
Video conference with the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism
Bringing Taiwanese Cuisine to the World
Welcoming the twin-city Michelin Guide Taipei and Taichung 2020
Cuisine is a vital part of Taiwan's international tourist promotions and a powerful attraction for visitors from around the world. The Michelin Guide is the world's most influential bible on fine dining. Since 2018, the Tourism Bureau has cooperated with Michelin to publish the Michel-in Guide Taipei 2018 and bring Taiwanese cuisine to the international stage. After years of effort, planning, and promotion, Taipei was finally recognized by Michelin's professional appraisal on November 14, 2019, making it the 31st city with its own Michelin Guide. In 2020, the Michelin Guide Taipei was expanded to include Taichung, Taiwan's second largest city.
A press conference to announce the publication of the Taipei-Taichung twin city guide was held at the Taichung Metropolitan Opera House on August 24, 2020, putting the two cities among a minority of places to host in-person releases for the guide during the pandemic. The guide puts Taiwan in an influential position on the world's food map and presents Taiwanese cuisine to the world.
Left: Michelin Taiwan General Manager Jay Mao (first row, far left), Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (first row, second from the left), and Tourism Bureau Direc-tor-General Chang Shi-chung (first row, third from the left) pictured with the head chefs of award-winning restaurants in the Michelin Guide Taipei and Taichung 2020. (Photo provided by Michelin Taiwan.)
Right: Press conference for the release of the Michelin Guide Taipei and Taichung 2020
Production of International Promotional Videos for Tourism Theme Years
In conjunction with the 2021 Year of Bicycle Tourism, the Tourism Bureau produced its first "8D" international promotional videos, entitled "Explore Taiwan on Two Wheels–Experience the Real You" and "Explore Taiwan on Two Wheels–Experience an Unforgettable Journey," to attract international visitors to experience Taiwan in-depth after the pandemic.
International promotional video "Explore Taiwan on Two Wheels–Experience the Real You"
International promotional video "Explore Taiwan on Two Wheels–Experience an Unforgettable Journey"
International Accolades for Taiwan Tourism
Taiwan won three awards in US travel magazine Global Traveler's 2020 Leisure Lifestyle Awards, including a repeat at first place for Best Leisure Destination in Asia and second place for Best Ad-venture Destination, International. Taoyuan International Airport also ranked fourth globally in the "Best Connecting Airports" category.
Taiwan ranked first in travel platform Agoda's top-10 tourist destinations of the world ranking in the second half of 2020.
The Tourism Bureau and popular Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) travel program Joseph Rosendo's Travelscope co-produced "Taiwan–Mountain Beauty, Villages & Cultures–Part 1." The program won the 41st Telly Awards.
The Tourism Bureau and well-known US film production company Black Buddha co-produced "Taiwan–The Perfect Solo Travel Destination for Culture & Small Towns" promotional video. The video won first place in the Asia-Overall Destinations-Cultural Arts Gold Award of the Ma-gellan Awards—the Oscars of the US tourism industry
Tourism Bureau ads in Singapore's bus and subway systems won the Silver Award for Outdoor Advertising in New York MUSE Creative Awards; the Silver Award for Advertising in Italy's A'Design Award; and the Silver Award in the US Summit Creative Awards.
The host of Joseph Rosendo's Travelscope records a program at the Qingshui Cliff Observation Deck.
Tourism Bureau 2019 ads in Singapore's MRT and bus systems won three awards in 2020.
Left：The Silver Award for Outdoor Advertising in the 2020 US Summit Creative Awards / Right：Silver Award for Outdoor Advertising in New York's MUSE Advertising Awards
Silver Award in Advertising in the 2020 "A' Design Award and Competition"
Seizing the Pulse of International Markets, Increasing Tourism Visits to Taiwan
After launching the anti-pandemic tourism and safe travel programs for domestic travel, the Tour-ism Bureau coordinated with the lifting of border controls by the Central Epidemic Command Center and international cooperation promotions by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to attract in-ternational tourists to Taiwan when the pandemic is brought under control.
After the pandemic, the Tourism Bureau will promote tourism recovery focusing "first on restor-ing the confidence of visitors to Taiwan and then on increasing the number of visitors to Taiwan." Starting with production of the "We are ready" promotional video, it will use various promotional media to convey to international tourists the image of travel safety in Taiwan after the pandemic.
Once the pandemic abates, the Tourism Bureau will focus promotions on Asian-Pacific and Southeast Asian countries within a four-hour flight to Taiwan conditional on border controls in major source markets and the status of direct flights to Taiwan. It will also continue to maintain the level of tourism visits from long-haul countries in Europe and the Americas. The Bureau will carry out an intensive PR campaign through the production of themed promotional videos and purchase of TV and internet access. It will combine these channels with print, outdoor, and MRT car advertising and other traditional media channels to increase exposure to Taiwan tourism, at-tract international visitors to Taiwan, and revitalize the domestic tourism industry.
Opening of the Taiwan Tourism Image Pavilion at the 2020 Taipei International Travel Fair
Promoting Taiwan at Major Events
2020 Taiwan Lantern Festival
Selected by the Discovery Channel as one of the world's best festivals, the Taiwan Lantern Festival is a main highlight of Taiwan's festive tourism events. The 2020 Taiwan Lantern Festival was held in Taichung's Houli Forest Park from February 8-23 under the theme "Brighten Tai-chung. A Resurgence of Dawn." There were three lantern venues, including Houli Forest Park, Houli Horse Ranch Park, and Wenxin Forest Park.
The year's Lantern Festival departed from its predecessors by not basing the lantern theme on the Chinese zodiac animals. It also had several other innovations. For the first time, the main lantern featured a green, sustainable design that allowed the public to pass through and interact with it up close. An LED back display was integrated into the main light show animation. Each lantern area presented new, interactive and multisensory experiences, earning widespread praise. COVID-19 prevention measures were enforced to create a safe environment for viewing the lights. The festival attracted 11.82 million visits.
Lantern lighting ceremony at the 2020 Taiwan Lantern Festival
Main Theme Lantern of the 2020 Taiwan Lantern Festival: Guardian of the Forest—Tree of Light
Taiwan East Coast Land Arts Festival
The Taiwan East Coast Land Arts Festival is a widely acclaimed and much loved annual event launched in 2015. The 2020 festival was based on the theme of "Bringing Boundaries To-gether." The program included Artist-in-Residence Creations and a Moonlight Ocean Concert, Open Art Studio, and Art Fair presenting local culture and life to local and international visitors. In addition to art exhibits, the festival presented nine concerts under the theme "Wandering Boundaries." Over 45,000 visitors attended. The Art Fair, Open Art Studio, and other activities gave visitors a close-up look at the art and culture of eastern Taiwan. The Taiwan East Coast Land Arts Festival and Moonlight Ocean Concert won the 2020 Taiwan Landscape Award in the "Spe-cial Theme" category.
089 Dance Crew interacts with the audience
Trashion Ocean Fashion Show and Creative Design Competition
"Transition" by artists-in-residence Lee Kuei-Chih and Lua Rivera
Promotion of Top 2020-2021 Hot Spring Destinations–40 Degrees of Serenity
In 2020-2021, we continued promotion of Taiwan's best hot spring destinations under the "40 Degrees of Serenity" theme, and integrated this with a new "Hot Spring Travel: Lifetime Warm Memories" promotion. Related activities and information on 19 hot spring areas and certi-fied "Hot Spring Mark" businesses were promoted on our website and Facebook page. The activi-ty was further promoted through videos introducing hot spring health benefits and the different spring qualities and characteristics of Taiwan's top hot springs.
The Tourism Bureau also promoted hot spring tourism through ads in Common Health and CommonWealth magazines, train cars, and other channels. Hot spring destinations in Taiwan were promoted by internet celebrities and bloggers, as well as through social media and websites to attract domestic and international visitors and increase revenue in the hot spring industry. Con-venience stores promoted the activity with a hot spring hotel prize giveaway in conjunction with purchases of Lunar New Year dishes. Travel agencies also pitched in with special deals on hot spring tours to develop opportunities in the domestic travel market, attract visitors to hot spring areas, and promote the development of local tourism industries.
Taiwan's best Hot Springs: Taipei Season of Hot Springs
Taiwan's best Hot Springs: Sichongxi Hot Spring Park
Taiwan's best Hot Springs: 2020-2021 Opening Ceremony
