Taiwan tourism video competition proves popular

2015/07/16

A video competition aimed at boosting Taiwan’s tourism credentials is generating widespread publicity among global travelers, according to the Tourism Bureau July 14.

Jointly launched by the bureau and Google Inc., Film Taiwan Action! spotlights the country’s rich cultural heritage and spectacular natural scenery. To date, the contest has received 125 entries from countries and territories in America, Asia and Europe, with the event’s website attracting 870,000 followers.

Eric Lin, head of international affairs for the bureau, said the competition is open only to foreign nationals, and requires participants to upload to YouTube a video of no more than 5 minutes containing photos or films of their travel in Taiwan in 2014-2015.

“Those garnering 1,000-plus votes can win cash prizes equal to NT$1 (US$0.03) per vote received. After online voting ends August 14, we will offer an around-the-world airline ticket to a final winner selected from the top 10 entries.”

Stanley Chen, director of Google Inc. in Taiwan, said the Internet giant is pleased to see the warm global response to the near-yearlong campaign. “As the contest draws to an end, we can expect more people to share their stories and help present the best of Taiwan to the world.”

To date, the promotion has eclipsed similar undertakings initiated in other Asian tourism markets, trailing only Japan in follower numbers. The entries have attracted 1.25 million views on YouTube, with 40 percent from outside Taiwan. The U.S., Malaysia and Japan are the top three countries for followers in that order.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=232610&ctNode=413)