The Tourism Bureau will collaborate with several national scenic area administrations to hold a series of activities on the theme of weddings as part of its plan to promote Taiwan’s wedding industry and tourism.
On Wednesday, 99 couples from Asia had their wedding photos taken against the backdrop of the spectacular scenery on Hohuanshan (合歡山). The event was part of a collaborative effort by the bureau and travel agencies in Southeast Asia to promote Taiwan’s wedding industry and tourism, a bureau official said.
With the number of couples participating in the activity limited to 99 — a phonetic symbol of long years of marital bliss and harmony — 16 couples from Singapore, 37 from Malaysia, 31 from Hong Kong, and 15 from Japan, South Korea and other countries joined, the official said.
Among the couples, some were betrothed and wanted to experience the romantic wedding atmosphere, some had been married for many years and wished to recall the sweet memories of their weddings and others took along their children to have family photos taken.
A 58-year-old man and his 55-year-old wife, both from Malaysia, were the most senior couple in the group.
As part of the event, the bureau organized a traditional Aboriginal ceremony to pray for blessings for the couples. The ritual was presided over by an Atayal tribe chief and witnessed by Taiwanese film director Wu Nien-jen (吳念真), who is serving as a Taiwan tourism ambassador for Southeast Asia.
Tourism Bureau Director-General Janice Lai (賴瑟珍) said that the bureau is attaching great importance to the country’s wedding industry by making it the focus of the Tour Taiwan Years 2008-2009 Festival, as it has become one of Taiwan’s prominent attractions.
“Taiwan’s booming wedding industry is famous in Asia — approximately 250 Hong Kong couples have their wedding photos taken in Taiwan each month,” Lai said.
In view of this trend, the bureau would continue to expand its efforts to promote the country’s wedding industry overseas, she said.
Other activities would include a mass wedding ceremony, a festival featuring wedding dresses and honeymoons and two group weddings at Alishan National Scenic Area and Maolin National Scenic Area, Lai said.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS