Meet Taiwan Week gets underway in Taipei

2015/09/24

Meet Taiwan Week kicked off Sept. 22 in Taipei City, bringing together 1,700 industry experts from around the world to review the latest trends in the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions sector.

Organized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the four-day event promotes the country as a top business tourism destination and coincides with the Sept. 24-25 Asian MICE Forum at Taipei International Convention Center.

David Hsu, deputy director-general of the MOEA’s Bureau of Foreign Trade, said MTW showcases the achievements of private-public cooperation over the last decade in positioning Taiwan as a global MICE destination of choice.

“We helped land 544 MICE events last year, attracting 190,000-plus international professionals to Taiwan while creating more than NT$20 billion [US$608.7 million] in business opportunities for the local tourism industry and related sectors.

“These numbers saw Taiwan soar to fourth on the list of most favorable MICE destinations in Asia last year as assessed by Amsterdam-based International Congress and Convention Association,” Hsu said, adding that Taipei and Kaohsiung moved up to 5th and 17th, respectively, in city rankings.

In addition, the country has earned major international honors in recent years from such prestigious organizations as American Business Awards, Global Association of the Exhibition Industry and ICCA. “This recognition is testament to the local MICE sector’s world-class accomplishments,” Hsu said.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the 2015 Asian MICE Forum is themed Transform! New Era of Mice. Delegations from ICCA, Dutch VNU Exhibitions, German Octanorm and Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition will share their views on future developments.

A new addition to the agenda is the Young Generation Forum comprising industry leaders and business representatives aged 35 and under from Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and mainland China.

“We look forward to hearing the participants’ views on digital strategies and online-to-offline commerce trends,” Hsu said.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=237032&ctNode=2194&mp=9)