The Tourism Bureau yesterday organized a record-setting reflexology therapy session in which nearly 1,000 foreign tourists received foot massages in an attempt to promote medical and “stay fit” tourism in Taiwan.
A total of 2,000 people, including 1,000 reflexologists and some 830 tourists from Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia and other countries along with foreign expatriates, easily set the new world record after 40 minutes of foot massage at the Taipei Arena.
The previous record featured 400 people getting reflexology for five minutes.
“It is a great opportunity for us to gather here in the Taipei Arena today to bring together culture and tourism to showcase the high quality of reflexology services in Taiwan,” said Janice Lai (賴瑟珍), director-general of the Tourism Bureau.
“With 2008-2009 being the year of Tour Taiwan, the Tourism Bureau would like to use creativity and sincerity to touch the hearts of foreign tourists and give them an unforgettable memory they will remember for the rest of their lives,” she said.
Before the foot massage, a drumming performance by the famous U Theater helped the participants get in the mood.
Following the drumming performance, the Meimen Qigong and Culture Center gave the 2,000 participants a basic qigong course, which is a system of meditational breathing exercises.
Lai said Taiwan provides a diverse range of medical and health maintenance tourism products such as hot springs, spas, massages and healthy dining, which have long been welcomed by international tourists.
The Tourism Bureau will continue to hold events promoting these types of products to attract more tourists to experience the excellent quality of Taiwan’s tourism services, she said.
Taiwan is hoping to increase the number of tourists and other visitors to 4 million this year — a 7 percent increase year-on-year.
Part of its strategy is to encourage travelers to come here for healing therapy, from massage to more complicated medical procedures such as plastic surgery, taking advantage of the nation’s advanced — but relatively affordable health care system. The country is hoping to become a medical tourism destination like Thailand and Singapore.
In addition to the free massage fest, the Tourism Bureau is also offering incentives such as gifts, special hotel deals and prizes to lure tourists to the nation this year.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
RSS