Destination weddings have become more and more popular among young Taiwanese couples in recent years, travel industry representatives said.
Overseas wedding ceremonies made the news recently, when it was reported that former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan's (
That plan was dropped, however, under criticism that the trip would be too expensive.
More than half of Taiwanese couples who get married overseas choose Guam, but other exotic locales such as Bali, Hawaii, and even Greece and Italy have been gaining market share, the travel industry said.
something different
Chen Wei-hsiang (
"We wanted a wedding that's different," the newlyweds said.
Chen said he considered the combined cost of the wedding and the honeymoon -- NT$120,000 -- was well worth it.
Tang Kuei-chen (湯桂禎), vice director of the Pacific Islands Club travel agency, said that destination weddings only gained mainstream acceptance in the past two years. Churches in Bali charge the lowest fees, but the certificates issued are not recognized in Taiwan, Tang said.
where to go
Hawaiian weddings were less popular with Taiwanese couples because they are slightly more expensive and couples have to deal with more red tape before they can obtain a valid wedding certificate, Tang said.
Wedding certificates from Guam are recognized in Taiwan and the island is only a three and a half hour flight away.
These factors, combined with the island's scenic environment and affordable prices, have attracted Taiwanese couples in their twenties and thirties, making it Taiwan's top overseas wedding destination, she said.
The period when a wedding takes place and the destination for travel have a real impact on the cost of a wedding, said Chen Peng-hsiu (
"The price churches charge to couples is the same throughout the year," she said. "But the overall cost of the trip depends on whether the wedding takes place during peak season, a period when everything from plane tickets to accommodation are more expensive."
Chen Peng-hsiu advised couples seeking a wedding abroad to plan well in advance.
"It is necessary to book a church at least three to six months before the wedding," said the agent, who has booked her own wedding package to Guam.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai