Amid the recovery in the Taiwan travel market, with inbound back at 70% of 2019 levels and outbound exceeding 2019 levels to some destinations, Taiwan’s travel players are willing to take it slow and steady when it comes to developing their industry.
In 2023, Cheng said Taiwan received 6,486,951 visitors, 55% of 2019 levels with six key markets driving growth – HK & Macau, Japan, South Korea, US and Singapore. And up to February 2024, 648,348 visitors arrived, marking a 67.8% recovery rate compared with 2019. Outbound travellers numbered 11,795,834, close to 69% of 2019 levels, with the top destinations being Japan, China, HK & Macau, South Korea and Vietnam. And as of February 2024, 1,389,474 Taiwanese had travelled abroad, making it a recovery rate of 94.6% compared with 2019.
Against that backdrop, sustainability has become a central theme in Taiwan’s industry, with policies mandating climate change impact disclosures and sustainable reports for listed companies, driving the industry towards greener practices.
From left, Daniel Cheng, RTM; Wang Chun Hang, Lavender Forest Group; Kuo Li Chin, Taitung Slow Food Festival; James Huang, Ecotour Taiwan and Gina Tsai, CTCAT, speaking at WiT Japan & North Asia.
A panel on “Lessons in Sustainability, Community and Diversity” at WiT Japan & North Asia showcased travel players who are taking leading initiatives to embed sustainability practices into their operations.
Effective this year, the Financial Supervisory Commission has made it compulsory for listed companies to submit ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) reports and greenhouse gas reviews, Daniel Cheng, founder and president of RTM, a community of travel startups, told the audience.
“Leading Taiwanese brands in the hospitality and tourism sectors are actively promoting sustainable practices and initiatives in response to the growing emphasis on ESG compliance,” he said, and this was leading to growing demand for sustainable solutions, creating new business opportunities for companies that can provide eco-friendly services and guidance.
AI is also getting a major push from the government with the first Taiwanese Minister of Digital Affairs, Audrey Tang, leading the charge. “Even though the technology hasn’t been fully implemented in our travel industry, we can still look forward to the benefits AI can bring us, especially in giving travellers more confidence to go to destinations that are off the beaten path and support local communities in more remote places,” said Cheng.
Lavendar Forest Group’s chairman Wang Chun Huang calls himself a farmer and says farmers are the frontliners for environmental protection.
Wang Chun Hang, chairman of Lavender Forest Group, said that for many travel businesses in Taiwan, “sustainability is not seen as a burden but rather as an opportunity for creating new business models and attracting customers who value sustainable practices”.
Calling himself a farmer and saying farmers are the frontliners for environmental protection, Wang said his group believes in “persisting in doing the right thing for the Next Generation”.
The Lavender Forest Group, which became the first tourism group in Taiwan to obtain carbon neutral certification in 2013, adopts a business model that integrates local communities and farmers into its tourism operations, ensuring that the benefits of tourism are shared and promoting cultural sustainability.
The group includes Aesthetic Forest Parks, Slow Living Style Accommodations, Wedding Estates, Therapeutic-themed Travel Agencies, Forest Lifestyle Selections, and Specialty Restaurants. It opened its first guesthouse outside Taiwan this year, in Hokkaido, and is keen to export its sustainability theme outside its home market.
Meanwhile, Kuo Li Chin, CEO of Co-create Planning & Design Consultancy, is the founder of the Taitung Slow Food Festival in eastern Taiwan which, since 2017, has attracted more than 68,000 visitors. The event, providing farm-to-table experiences, cuisine education, indigenous musical performance, knowledge forum and workshop as well as a food market with various local providers, is seen as one of the most successful destination marketing events in Taiwan and a sustainability role model for food ingredient production and biodiversity.
Kuo Li Chun at the Taitung Slow Food Festival, which she founded in 2017. It has since attracted close to 70,000 visitors.
Kuo said the Slow Food Movement in Taitung has successfully transformed the region’s perception, showcasing its diverse and fascinating food cultures, and attracting visitors from around the world to experience its culinary richness. “We cooperate with farmers and we express the variety of Taiwanese food cultures to slow foodies,” said Kuo, who moved from Taipei to Taitung in 2013.
She said it has developed a sustainable business model that brings together farmers, chefs, cooks, and long-term supporters, fostering a collaborative ecosystem that promotes environmental and cultural preservation.
Specialist in environmental education, James Huang joined Ecotour Taiwan Travel Service company in 2017 to help the specialist agency promote its brand to a growing environmentally-conscious segment of travellers, and increase its specialised offerings.
“We are a company that focuses on eco tours. Taiwan is rich in biodiversity, but the environment is very fragile,” he said.
As such, it had implemented comprehensive strategies to minimize the environmental impact of their tours, including stringent criteria for selecting eco-friendly suppliers and fostering long-term partnerships. “We have clear criteria on how we choose suppliers – restaurants and accommodation – for example no single use items.”
It actively promotes eco-friendly practices among its suppliers, providing guidance and advice to help them transition to more sustainable service models.
Meanwhile, as president of CTCAT (Creative Tourism and Community Design Association, Taiwan), Gina Tsai’s mission is to identify and promote local cultural activities and events offered by local communities and indigenous tribes to differentiate and diversify tourism supply.
“It is important to engage diverse stakeholders into tourism content to create uniqueness and establish a variety of partnerships within local business environments,” said the former head of public policy for Airbnb for Hong Kong and Taiwan.
This, she said, is especially important to cater to Generation Z travellers with their preference for sustainable products and services.
She sees AI technology as “the ultimate solution to tackle sustainable problems such as over-tourism, fraud, cultural impact” and said local travel businesses must keep pace with AI tools.