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European Bloggers Visit Dadaocheng to See Historic Monuments, Sample Aromatic Tea

European bloggers visiting Dadaocheng The Taipei City Government’s Department of Information and Tourism (TPEDOIT) participated in the OTDYKH Leisure in Russia in September and drew the attention of local tour operators.

Before participating in the WTM London in November, the TPEDOIT invited British bloggers Alyshia Ford, Janet NewenHam, Russian media worker Pavel Kushchenko, and Russian blogger cum writer Shamov Dmitry to embark on a 7-day 6-night media tour in Taipei. The aim is to proactively elevate Taipei’s reputation and popularity in the European market through diverse communication platforms, thereby generating new economic benefits for tourism.

The European bloggers’ itinerary focused on the “first-time visitor to Taipei” perspective, taking them to essential, internationally-renowned destinations such as Bangka, Ximending, Beimen, Dadaocheng, Beitou, the National Palace Museum, and Taipei 101. Meanwhile, internationally acclaimed Michelin gourmet feasts, steamed dumplings, beef noodles, and mango shaved ice have pleasantly surprised the first-time visitors to Taipei.

For the visit to Dadaocheng on the afternoon of October 17, the TPEDOIT also incorporated interesting challenge games at each destination, wherein the bloggers had to perform a specific action and take a photo in order to pass the challenge. At the Gallery Life Seeding, a unique cultural and creative store in Dadaocheng, the bloggers were welcomed by TPEDOIT Commissioner Liu Yi-ting after enjoying delectable afternoon tea. Commissioner Liu also transformed into a challenge game master and confronted the bloggers with a pop quiz session. It was Pavel Kushchenko from Russia who ultimately walked away with the Dadaocheng souvenir and cultural and creative merchandise valued at NT$5,000. Upon receiving the gifts, Kushchenko commented that he wanted to share them with his travel companions, and he need not worry about what to get for his friends and family at home. After the event, the commissioner joined the bloggers to experience authentic tea culture.

The number of European tourists coming to Taiwan is showing an increase, with many of them heading to Southeast Asian destinations from the UK and Russia by taking advantage of direct flights and visa-exempt entry service during their long holidays. British blogger Janet, who is also a member of the media tour, said that she usually visits Bali in Indonesia during this time of the year for vacation, but in order to experience different Asian cultures, she has chosen to come to Taipei, hoping to develop a wide range of alternatives for future travel in Asia. Commissioner Liu suggested that the TPEDOIT has endeavored to tap into the long-range market this year; besides the mission to market tourism overseas, the ambition is to attract European and US travelers to include Taiwan as one of the Asian destinations in their itineraries before and after attending the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. For this media tour, blogger Shamov Dmitry – a long-time resident of Tokyo – was invited so that he can attract more Russian fans to visit Taipei by sharing his travel experiences.

At the end of the tour, each blogger also received a Taipei cultural and creative merchandise “Married Mug”. Alyshia Ford commented that they were all impressed by the hospitality and vivacity of Taipei citizens including the docent of the Dadaocheng tour in the afternoon, store clerks of various cultural and creative shops, and last but not least, the warm reception of TPEDOIT Commissioner Liu.