“Spend A Night @ Taiwan’s Presidential Office Building” is an international marketing program created by the General Association of Chinese Culture (GACC) in collaboration with the Office of the President, Tourism Bureau and Taiwan Visitors Association. The objective is to invite foreign nationals to experience the beauty of this historic landmark and Taiwan’s unique democracy.
The teaser video opens with President Tsai Ing-wen sending out a global invitation to sign up for the program, to promote Taiwan internationally and increase the number of travelers and backpackers visiting Taiwan, thus driving tourism industry development.
For those who may wonder if the Office of the President is running an illegal hotel or B&B, the GACC emphasized that the Office of the President is not a hotel business. A hotel business provides unspecified persons day-long or week-long stays or rooming services or resort services for profit. In practical terms, these businesses provide travelers with accommodation facilities and services. The “Spend A Night @ Taiwan’s Presidential Office Building” program is a nonprofit experiential activity, and clearly different from a for-profit hotel business, it is not considered part of the hotel and B&B industry regulated by the Act for the Development of Tourism and therefore is not in violation of the law.
Program details are scheduled for public release by the end of August. Foreign backpackers will be invited to submit proposals on how to promote Taiwan. Since the program is a limited offer and free of charge, each applicant is required to enter the selection process. In order to be selected, applicants will not only be required to follow safety regulations, but also to fulfill the obligation of promoting Taiwan tourism on the international stage.
It is on these terms that the Office of the President agrees to accommodate selected travelers on a limited basis. The organizer will select the 20 most suitable candidates (parties) to stay at the Office of the President for one night free of charge. The program is scheduled to welcome its first participant this fall for an overnight stay, followed by the next participant the following week, and so on.