The Taiwan Tourism Bureau in cooperation with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines (TECO) recently sponsored the 2017 Taiwan Tourism Workshop at New World Manila Bay Hotel.
The event was a great occasion to showcase Taiwan’s latest tourism developments and initiatives and allow different industries to take part in these endeavors.
The workshop featured a “Travel Mart” and presentations from different Taiwanese and Filipino partner institutions, followed by a hearty dinner and program to cap off the festivities.
In attendance were TECO representatives Dr. Gary Song-Huann Lin, Minister James Chu and Director for the Press Division Jerry Chuang. Also Yi-Ting Chen, deputy officer from the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, Fu-Min Wang, deputy secretary-general from the Taiwan Visitors Association, and Yi-Hsuan Lee, sub-section chief from the Department of Information and Tourism of the Taipei City Government, and among others graced the event with their presence.
Song-Huann Lin, at the event’s dinner, highlighted the growing relationship between the Philippines and Taiwan and how tourism can boost this relationship to even greater heights. He stated that both nations tend to overlook each other over the years despite its geographical closeness, only being separated by a two-hour flight.
According to Dr. Lin, “It is time for the Philippines and Taiwan to beef up our traditionally long-standing friendship.”
The Taiwan government has already done its part by currently easing the entrance of Filipinos into Taiwan through its visa-liberalization initiatives. He mentioned that once all preparations have been completed, the Taiwanese government is expected to make a formal announcement in September indicating the exact date to grant the visa-free entry treatment for all Filipinos.
Along with the recently implemented “New Southbound Policy” which tops the Philippines on the priority list, Gary Lin believes that these actions will help strengthen the two countries’ “comprehensive relationship” along with the ASEAN nations, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Asian Nations. He believes that through these joint efforts “will not only enhance our trade and investments, but also to strengthen our exchanges of culture, education, people to people, and including tourism…”
To him, “this is the best time for our two nations to partner together” and encourage travelling to each other’s country. In closing the event, Dr. Lin assured that his office and the Taiwanese government, will always extend welcome hands and have a place for their Filipino brothers and sisters.
On July 6 – 9, more than 60 participants including delegations from Taiwan attended the 2017 Travel Madness Expo (TME) at the SMX Convention Center in Manila. This three-day event showcased the beauty of Taiwan and gave participants a taste of what to expect when visiting Taiwan. The guests were treated to multiple performances and activities like nail painting, acrobatics, balloon artists, cotton candy making, a variety of food tastings and many others. These were all made available to let the participants experience the joy and beauty of Taiwan.
