Taoyuan City has strengthened its tourism ties with Japan’s Kansai region through a promotional mission to Kobe and Osaka on September 11-12, 2025.
Led by director Chen Ching-Fang of the Taoyuan Department of Tourism, the delegation included local tourism businesses engaging with the Kobe Tourism Bureau, JATA Hyogo Branch, Arima Hot Spring Association and regional partners, shifting from government-level dialogue to business-to-business connections.
The department hosted a promotional event in Osaka, inviting Japanese travel companies including JTB, Nippon Travel Agency and Kinki Nippon Tourist to support Taoyuan’s overseas tourism development.
In Kobe, the delegation visited local schools with the city’s Education Bureau to explore student travel and SDG initiatives. Chen noted that the partnership with Kobe, established in 2022, has already yielded results in school trips and now offers broader industry engagement opportunities.
On September 12, Taoyuan held its first tourism seminar in Osaka, introducing Taoyuan: The Starting Point of Your Journey. Japan is Taoyuan’s largest overseas market, with over 1.32 million Japanese visitors to Taiwan in 2024, including 140,000 overnight stays in Taoyuan. The city promoted travel from Taoyuan International Airport, highlighting cultural tours at the Pearl Coast, historical walks in Daxi Old Street, tea experiences in Longtan and eco-tourism at Lalashan and Xiao Wulai.
Taoyuan showcased its three tourism brands – Pearl Coast, Great Dragon Gate and Northern Cross-Island Exploration – and its culinary offerings, from goose dishes to indigenous cuisine. A promotional video featuring Japanese celebrity Angela Sato at Taoyuan’s night market attracted attention in Taiwan and Japan, supported by ads in Osaka’s Umeda Station.
The mission concluded with a visit to JATA Kansai, where both sides agreed to deepen collaboration and expand mutual promotion, boosting Taoyuan’s presence in Japan’s tourism market.
