With a new strategy in place – to focus on niche segment and to work with top DMC’s, Taiwan Tourism Bureau (TTB) is all set to reinforce its presence and attract the large number of high-end travellers from India. As informed by Dr Trust Lin, Director – TTB Singapore Office, the country has set a goal to achieve at least 20 percent growth by end of the year 2020. Therefore, TTB comes with massive plans to be executed in the year 2019-20 to achieve this target. Taiwan has received almost 11 million tourists from across the world including 38,000 from India in the year 2018.
Elaborating more on this, Dr Lin says: “We see there is a huge potential in the high-end segment of travellers. So, we are planning to position Taiwan among the travellers who are high-spenders and seeking new experiences. As we see, a large number of Indian travellers visit their neighboring countries, Taiwan – which is not very far from here, could be a must see destination for them.”
“To attract the ‘top two percent’ (high-end travellers) and branding Taiwan as the most attractive tourist destination, we have collaborated with high-end theaters such as PVR Cinemas and Inox Leisure Ltd. where our destination films will be shown to the viewers. Apart from this, we have a number of promotional activities going on at the airports and shopping malls,” informed Dr Lin. TTB has also launched a pop-up booth at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. Catching the eyes of international travellers passing through departures, the impactful stand is on view from 21st January to 20th February 2019.
To cater to this segment of travellers, TTB has designed various packages to showcase city, shopping, luxury and activities. Travellers will have a chance to interact with the people, taste the local food and go for activities such as fishing and sightseeing. “For the travellers who want to experience the luxury in Taiwan, whether it is five star dining or shopping etc. the country has amazing places to go. All kind of fashion brands and luxury hotels are available in Taiwan. And, we are very comfortable in that segment,” added Dr Lin.
Highlighting his marketing and promotional strategy Dr Lin says that 75 percent of the total budget will be spent on Business to Consumer (B2C) events, whereas the rest of 25 percent on Business to Business activities (B2B). “As a part of our campaign, we will invite celebrities (Television actor) from India to go on a vacation in Taiwan, and will share their pictures and videos on social media channels to influence people from here,” he added.
Talking about the challenges, he says, despite having a huge potential of tourism with unique and attractive places for MICE and leisure, Taiwan is still recognized as the hub of IT products with lot of industries. Therefore, TTB needs to put lot of efforts to raise the awareness, and positioning Taiwan among the most scenic, attractive and unique places of Asia.
Travellers today are very dynamic, some FIT’s – who are internet friendly, having lot of information with them. “However, we have seen that traditionally in India, a large number of travellers depend on the tour operators. That is why we have planned to work with the top DMC’s who can bring more tourists to Taiwan. To enhance the awareness of our travel partners will conduct online training programme for them. Apart from this, we will conduct roadshows in six Indian cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad this year,” he explained.
