Tourist board wooing foreign backpackers

This article was written by Cecilia Fanchiang and published by the Taiwan Journal on August 26, 2005.

Next year, 2006, will be the International Youth Travel Year. The government in Taiwan has introduced a program that is designed to attract more young English-speaking tourists from abroad. The program includes free airfare and accommodations for 54 young people from 9 Western countries to come and experience what Taiwan has to offer on a two-week trip around the island.

In the past the government has been focusing on promoting domestic tourism and attracting visitors from other Asian countries. Now, Taiwan is acknowledging the importance of Western tourists, especially the backpackers.

The program will include young visitors from Europe, North America, Australia or New Zealand who are between the ages of 18 and 35 and who have a high-school education and be literate in English.

For more information about this program, please check out this article, or contact the Bureau of International Cultural and Educational Relations under the Ministry of Education in Taiwan.