Twelve contestants from around the world will compete in the next few months in the second season of a reality TV show to promote travel in Taiwan, the Tourism Bureau said.
Shooting for the show, which features Taiwanese townships and local lifestyles, will start next month and last for three months, the bureau said on Wednesday.
“We hope to diversify our marketing campaign to reach all kinds of people who might be interested in visiting Taiwan,” Tourism Bureau Deputy Director-General Wayne Liu (劉喜臨) said.
The series is produced in collaboration with the Travel and Living channel and is aimed at reaching an estimated audience of more than 136 million worldwide.
According to the bureau, foreign visitor arrivals reached 3.57 million in the first half of this year, up 25.24 percent from the same period last year.
The bureau said it hoped to build on this momentum and reach 7 million by the end of the year.
Foreign visitor arrivals last year hit a record 6.08 million.
In the reality show, 12 contestants from seven countries will compete in various challenges for a top prize of a free tour of Taiwan’s 10 most famous tourist spots, including Sun Moon Lake and Alishan National Scenic Area, the bureau said.
The winner will also receive a travel allowance of US$10,000.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
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