NICHE travel is gaining traction in Taiwan as the market gains maturity, with over 10 million Taiwanese heading abroad annually and venturing into special interest tours.
Andy Yu, vice president of special interest travel at Lion Travel, shared: “We are pushing three themes namely, cruises, weddings and skiing due to growing consumer interest.”
“In 2013, more international cruise lines will enter the Taiwan market. While this segment is not big, the pie will grow bigger with more choices to come. For instance, Royal Caribbean International, Princess Cruises and Costa Cruises have deployed more new ships from Alaska, Northern Europe and the Mediterranean Sea to Taiwan.”
He added that there were chartered cruises sailing to Yalong Bay in January and February 2014 that would let passengers board at Geelong without flying to other ports.
Getting married overseas is a second trend. Yu said roughly 300 to 400 couples tie the knot overseas each year, but called the small market a lucrative one. “Clients find it efficient to combine the wedding ceremony and photoshoot in one trip. Popular destinations are islands like Bali, Guam and Hawaii. We also observe more traffic to Japan.”
Phoenix Tours, which organises gourmet tours around Europe and Australia for travellers to enjoy Michelin-star cuisine, is putting together tailor-made medical tours for the silver-haired market.
General manager, Anthony Liao, said: “I have a client who did kidney dialysis in South Korea.”
Longhaul travel is also seeing a similar upward trajectory. FlyUSA.com.tw’s project manager, Elaine Lin, said more Taiwanese were choosing to count down to the new year at New York’s Times Square or visit the Grand Canyon.
“We also rolled out a 10-day in-depth cultural tour to the east and west coasts of the US last year. Rather than using a coach bus, clients may travel by private jet within the US and this saves them a lot of time. Moreover, a security check is only required for the first stop,” she explained.
