Well-known online travel platform Booking.com released its top 10 sustainable tourism destinations in the world list and Tainan is the only city in Taiwan to be listed on account of the city’s commitment to developing sustainable industries and solar energy, and active deployment of smart city technologies. Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che expressed that Tainan will keep on promoting sustainable tourism and green tourism as well as working on building a smart city. He also hopes that the Tainan 400 events will further boost Tainan’s international visibility and attract more international tourists to stimulate the local economy.
Booking.com’s top 10 destinations for sustainable tourism include Merano, Italy; Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil; Tainan; Santa Marta, Colombia; Stellenbosch, South Africa; Charlotte, USA; Hanmer Springs, New Zealand; Munich, Germany; Nusa Penida, Indonesia; and Salzburg, Austria. Tainan has gained much popularity among visitors with its food culture, rich history, numerous ancient temples, and traditional alleys with hanging lanterns. The city was included in the top 10 sustainable tourism destinations list as Tainan is “dedicated to developing sustainable industries and solar energy” and has “transportation means that protect the environment”.
Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che aims to build a low-carbon sustainable city and is committed to enhancing areas such as energy conservation, carbon emission reduction, climate adaptation, and environmental friendliness as well as the promotion of sustainable tourism. Tainan is also the first special municipality in Taiwan to become a member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). Through the GSTC-STTP, Tainan City Government provides consistent and common practical guidance to local tourism operators to help them transition towards sustainable tourism.
Data from the Tainan City Government show that before the pandemic (before 2019), the average annual number of visitors from the three main tourism markets to Tainan is approximately 300,000 people, with about 200,000 from Japan, 100,000 from the US and Europe, and about 35,000 from Hong Kong and Macau. Now that the borders are open and the flow of international tourists is returning, Tainan City launched a tourist reward program for international tourists visiting Tainan. Local tourism operators who host overseas tour groups are encouraged to apply for a maximum subsidy of NTD 100,000 and applications will be accepted from June 1.
Tainan City Government continues to promote sustainable tourism through concrete actions such as itinerary planning and supporting green dining, promoting low-carbon restaurants, setting up bike-sharing infrastructure, and encouraging the use of low-carbon vehicles and going to low-carbon restaurants. Other examples include the Tainan Local Industry Low-carbon Tourism Light-tourism Revival Plan launched in 2021, encouraging tourism operators to roll out low-carbon feature tours, launching the Six Major Green-themed Demo Itinerary which combines Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services (88 Tainan Loop Route, 99 Anping-Taijiang Route, Mountain Line & Museum Route, double-decker buses), and providing additional assistance to MICHELIN Guide green star restaurants.
Furthermore, to improve the tourism environment more comprehensively and to connect with the international community, the Bureau of Tourism continues to work on setting up a multilingual environment. Actions include promoting the WTTC Safe Travels Stamp, assisting restaurants and dining places in creating multilingual menus (in English, Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese), helping tourism operators enhance their multilingual reception environments, and training foreign language tour guides and tourism taxi drivers. We hope that visitors from home and abroad can enjoy Tainan’s rich travel experience and appreciate high-quality hospitality services.