Taipei City Government

To promote Taipei’s exceptional MICE attributes and to support the government’s New Southbound Policy, the Department of Information and Tourism (TPEDOIT) once again participated in the Bureau of Foreign Trade of MOEA’s Taiwan’s MICE Promotion Program (Meet Taiwan) promotion delegation this year, visiting 3 countries including Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines to organize promotional campaigns and briefings. After the event, they also visited local businesses and potential partners in the region, hoping to attract new clients.

This year’s Southeast Asian Meet Taiwan promotion delegation consists of representative from 9 government agencies, travel agents, and hotels. They visited Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Hanoi in Vietnam, and Manila in the Philippines on June 17, 19, and 21 respectively to host 3 briefings. The combined number of participants and potential buyers at the briefings amounted to more than 300 people, discussing the potential for future cooperation and the development of business opportunities with delegates from Taiwan.

TPEDOIT took this opportunity to introduce the various advantages of organizing MICE activities in Taipei City; besides promoting the city’s excellent facilities, friendly environment, and gourmet culture, details of subsidies (grants) offered by Taipei City Government were also elaborated to successfully attract the attention of the local audience. Many businesses, such as Malaysia’s Apple Vacations and renowned cosmetics direct selling company Mary Kay in the Philippines, expressed their willingness to host MICE activities in Taipei.

According to TPEDOIT Senior Specialist Chiang Chun-hui, Taipei City Government has recently approved the subsidy (grant) amended regulation to increase the number of subsidies (grants) from NT$300,000 to NT$500,000 per project for competing to host international conferences. Furthermore, the number of participants required to apply for subsidies (grants) has been further reduced – from more than 2,000 people to 1,000 people. Information of the updated promotional policies has also been provided to potential Southeast Asian buyers in order to serve as an incentive for hosting their activities in Taiwan, in turn maximizing the benefits of this amended regulation.

Data from the Tourism Bureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications reveals that 2.137 million Southeast Asian travelers visited Taiwan in 2017, and the figure grew to 2.43 million people in 2018, equivalent to an increase of 13.7%, indicating that the market is expanding rapidly. Malaysia has always been the primary source of New Southbound travelers to Taiwan; over the last several years, the nation has been ranked no.1 among Southeast Asian countries in terms of the number of inbound tourists to Taiwan. Vietnam and the Philippines, on the other hand, have also demonstrated significant increases in the number of tourists coming to Taiwan. In 2017, approximately 383,000 Vietnamese tourists came to Taiwan, and that number rose to 490,000 people in 2018. In 2018, 419,000 Filipino travelers visited Taiwan, showing an increase of 44% compared to 290,000 visitors in 2017, making it the fastest growing country.