Taiwan dangles unique destination appeals and venues that will interest even serious conventions.
A vibrant line-up of business events taking place in cities outside of Taipei, Taiwan is helping to raise the profile of these destinations as interesting option for even more high-profile gatherings.
An example is the Global Harbour Cities Forum on September 26 that shone the spotlight on the waterfront Kaohsiung Exhibition Centre in the Asia’s New Bay Area as well as the nearby offshore Penghu Island.
To draw even more corporate traffic to Penghu Island, MEET Taiwan is marketing the area as 2018 Most Beautiful Bays at the World Congress, as well as participate in a business exhibition that features a carnival, concert and container-park show floor.
“There are many developments and events coming up that we are excited to be a part of. For the rest of 2018, we will be promoting Taiwan’s business events following an ocean theme, encapsulating destinations like Kaohsiung’s bay and islands like Penghu,” shared Jessie Tseng, executive director of MEET Taiwan.
Over in Taichung, where the Asia MICE Forum 2018 was recently held, the industrial city will get its softer, greener side played up by the World Flora Exposition. Running from November this year to April 2019, the expo will be held in multiple new facilities across Houli, Fengyuan, Waipu and Shuinan districts. Taichung will also host the 2019 Taichung East Asian Youth Games.
Not only will these events raise the profile of the bay area and Taichung, the destinations are also getting a boost through new event venues.
Taiwan-based GIS Group has launched the GIS Taichung Wenxin Convention Center and the GIS Kaohsiung Asia’s New Bay Area Convention Center.
The former, designed by renowned Japanese architect Toyo Ito, features three meeting rooms incorporating several design concepts and glass walls.
Meanwhile, the GIS Kaohsiung Asia’s New Bay Area Convention Center boasts five differently sized meeting rooms, coupled with advanced equipment, technical support and spacious lounges.
Jason Yeh, CEO of GIS Group, said: “The MICE industry is a main part of the Asia’s New Bay Area plan. The transportation, accommodation, catering and tourism around that area form a package to attract local and foreign corporates to host their meetings and events.”
He added that clients, especially those from Taipei and Hsinchu City, have expressed the need for more business event facilities in both Taichung and Kaohsiung.
Yeh pointed out that the new convention centres were designed to cater to the rise in “non-traditional” events that are “much more casual and creative”.
He said: “We offer different sizes of conference spaces, which allow a better fit for different event requirements. Instead of having fixed meeting settings, we are very flexible so guests can design their own meeting setup according to their needs.”
