Taipei City Promoting "Taipei MICE 4S" in Bangkok

BANGKOK, THAILAND--(Marketwire - Oct 4, 2012) - As part of its active campaign to expand Taipei's MICE industry, the Taipei City Government's Department of Information and Tourism has sent a team to attend the 2012 IT&CMA in Bangkok, for a "Taipei MICE 4S, NT$1 Million Super Gift" promotion. The team is introducing the city's premium-quality MICE services to international purchasers, and is also offering special NT$1 million sponsorship gifts at the show. The goal is to create a grand chorus of industry professionals to Say Yes to Taipei, bringing more international MICE business to the city.

DOIT has targeted the Taipei MICE 4S Plan to satisfy the MICE industry's needs, and recommend the city's comprehensive, high-grade soft and hard infrastructure to industry professionals. Here is the 4S breakdown. Service: A single window, providing one-stop services to assist and promote the meeting and exhibition industry. Subsidy: Implementation of the city's welcoming and sponsorship support program, including administrative assistance, Taipei souvenir gifts, transportation subsidies and scenic-site admission, etc. Schedule: Establishment of the "Taipei City Incentive Travel and MICE Industry Database," its resources made available to MICE professional planning teams, and at the same time integration of tourism resources, to ensure the provision of comprehensive, consistent full-itinerary service and recommendations. Splendid venues: Introduction of Taipei City's "15 Major Travel Incentive Venues," using different special themes at each, bringing enhanced meaning to events/activities being staged.

DOIT has created the NT$1 Million Special Gift plan for this occasion to stimulate more direct beneficial results. All purchasers who have signed agreements for travel-plan packages on-site during the exhibition, with Taipei included in the itinerary, are eligible. In such cases, in addition to incentives applied for under the original sponsorship program, each group can also apply for up to NT$100,000 in additional support. A maximum of 10 such applications will be accepted. A "Say Yes to Taipei" activity is also being staged during the exhibition, in which any show attendee who indicates a willingness/intention to come to Taipei on a questionnaire that has been prepared will be given attractive Taipei-theme souvenir items. To promote the Taipei MICE 4S Plan, DOIT team members are also transforming themselves into MICE Super Man and Woman figures, donning costumes adorned with a large letter "S" logo. This bold daring is sure to catch the eye of everyone in attendance and generate awareness of the Taipei MICE 4S Plan. These initiatives will draw participants to the Taipei booth and generate in them a willingness to sign the Yes card indicating a strong interest in visiting Taipei City.

Elsewhere, in collaboration with the staging of an activity featuring free fortune-telling by Taipei's Longshan Temple, buyers and visitors at the show who come to the Taipei booth are being feted with samplings of two of Taipei's most popular gift items, pineapple cakes and Baozhong tea. Many foreign buyers are being enticed to stop for a taste, and are being introduced to the splendid fusion of the traditional and modern that is at the heart of the Taipei character.

According to DOIT Commissioner Chao Hsin-ping, to date in 2012 the Department has evaluated and approved 125 sponsorship applications from international groups seeking to stage MICE activities in Taipei. These events will bring an estimated 150,000 foreign business travelers and tourists to the city, and generate tourism revenue of over NT$3.4 billion, NT$400 million more than in 2011 (see note). Many renowned international enterprises are currently planning incentive-travel activities in Taipei City, among them Bosch, which will stage its annual meeting, Shanghai Novartis, to stage a sales-elite summit, and Infinitus (part of the Lee Kum Kee Group), for a booster tour. The Amway China arm of famed international direct-sales enterprise Amway has also chosen Taipei as its incentive-travel destination in March next year.

The 2012 Junior Chamber International World Congress will be held in Taipei in November, bringing 8,000 youth leaders and young entrepreneurs from 100 countries to the city for cross-industry professional exchange. The opening ceremonies will be held at Taipei Arena. During the preparatory period JCI personnel have visited Taipei to inspect and evaluate facilities, and have had high praise for the city's comprehensive array of international MICE facilities, notably Taipei Arena, Taipei Expo Park's EXPO Dome, and Nangang Exhibition Center.

(Note) According to the 2011 Annual Survey Report on Visitors Expenditure and Trends in Taiwan, issued by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, the average daily expenditure by international meeting and exhibition visitors was US$257.82, and the average stay was 3 days (amount calculated using an exchange rate of US$1 = NT$30).