Taiwan Tourism Bureau at WTM 2016

VICTORIA, U.K. - Nov. 25, 2016 - PRLog -- The Taiwan Tourism Bureau attended London's World Travel Market from November 7 - 9 in order to showcase Taiwan as the perfect outdoor destination, and discuss the focus on the backpacker and youth market for 2017.

This year's WTM also provided the Taiwan Tourism Bureau with the ideal platform to share the successes of the past year with key industry professionals and media.

2016 has been a good year for Taiwan Tourism Bureau in the UK market with the number of British people visiting Taiwan exceeding last year's figures. British arrivals in the country remain Taiwan's largest outbound market in Europe and there is forecast to be a 10% growth in visitors from the UK this year.

Coupled with this, the past year has seen four new UK tour operators selling Taiwan products, with now over fifty operators selling the destination, and five UK tour operators expanding their Taiwan offering. The Tourism Bureau has extended agent reach through involvement with PATA, engaging with key sellers and product managers at the regional PATA quizzes and the Taste of PATA event.

The 'Taiwan Happy Hour' proved very popular with visitors, and included prize giveaways. Visitors were also invited to immerse themselves in Taiwanese culture through experiencing puppet shows, musical performances and traditional dance provided by the Wave Dance troupe, flown over especially from Taipei.

Taiwan were also able to discuss why the backpacker and youth markets are key for 2017. As a destination, Taiwan has much to offer the backpacker and youth travel segment. For a start, the country has 200 peaks which tower above 3000 meters, serene lakes and varied coastline, making it the perfect destination for adventure travel. Taiwan also has plenty of soft adventure opportunities, including watersports like surfing and rafting, but also paragliding and cycling. Add to that the unique fusion of Asian cultures, friendly people, lively street markets and a vibrant, contemporary cities and you can see why Taiwan is a really great destination for younger travellers. Additionally, it is a good value destination, which is essential for the younger market. Taiwan occupies a unique position as a crossroads of the east, and is relatively unchartered territory for backpackers. Its reputation for cultural diversity and openness to travellers means it should be a lot higher on the list of places to see and go in Asia. In order to specially target this market the Taiwan Tourism Bureau will be investing more in social media advertising, as well as working on marketing initiatives and itineraries with youth travel tour operators.

The delegation were able to further showcase everything Taiwan has to offer. Distinctive design and infrastructure are both integral to the country, exemplified as Taipei was named Capital of Design in 2016. Not only this, Taiwan is the ultimate outdoors destination, with numerous sporting possibilities. Cycling is immensely popular thanks to the diverse landscape, which can offer both leisurely scenic rides and challenging races.

The Tourism Bureau delegation held several meetings over the duration of the show with key partners, media and tour operators in order to explore opportunities to further promote the destination.

For further information on Taiwan please visit http://eng.taiwan.net.tw

Email taiwan@brightergroup.com or telephone 020 7326 9880.

Notes to editors

For media enquiries, please contact Laoise Collins or Miranda Harle at the Brighter Group taiwan@brightergroup.com or telephone 020 7326 9880.