The BOFT established the Taipei World Trade Centre Nangang Exhibition Hall and the Kaohsiung Exhibition and Convention Centre. Now, the BOFT is planning on expanding the Nangang Exhibition Hall into the “National Convention Centre”, while local governments plan to establish convention centres in Taoyuan, Hsinchu, and Taichung, with a convention centre boasting 5,000 booths near its airport. The Kaohsiung City government is also renovating a site, creating a multi-functional convention centre.

Everybody knows, where you have convention centres, you need hotels. And new hotels are definitely on their way in the bustling Xinyi area, near the Taipei World Trade Centre and the Taipei International Convention Centre. The stylish W Taipei will boast 405 rooms and 14 conference rooms. Le Meridien Taipei, on the other hand, will be marketed as the first arts hotel in Taiwan, featuring 700 pieces of artwork. The Mandarin Oriental Taipei, near the Taipei Songshan Airport, will provide 300 rooms. A new hotel managed by the largest hotel group in Asia—The Millennium—will also open next year in Taichung. Meanwhile, the Formosa International Hotels Corp. has renovated Silks Place Taroko and built the five-star Silks Place Yilan. The Sheraton Hsinchu also targets business opportunities created by professionals in the technology sector, while the Far Eastern Group has been improving the facilities in its Tainan and Taipei hotels.

Now that hotels are taken care of, what else will you need? You will surely need transport. That’s why the government has been upgrading the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system which links the airport and Taipei, while adding another line to the Nangang Exhibition Hall. A third airport terminal is also in construction.

Finally, you need the meetings and events themselves. The island has booked several large events such as the International Flora Exposition in Taipei in 2011, which will boast four areas and 14 themed pavilions showcasing seas of flowers. The public will be treated to more than 6,000 musical and cultural performances and an estimated eight million tourists are expected. Also, Taiwan won the bid to host the 2011 International Design Alliance Congress in Taipei, an event which is expected to attract 3,000 designers and about 1 million visitors, and is set to become the biggest design exhibition in the last 10 years. The government announced 2011 as the “Year of Design.”

Original activities in Taiwan

Sky Lantern Classes: Create your own lantern and launch them into the sky, and with your personalised message included. Sky lanterns are flying paper lanterns that operate on the same principle as a hot air balloon. At Pingxi, Taiwan, visitors can write their wishes on these lanterns and send it up to the heavens, hoping that their dreams will come true. A local expert will help you to make and fly your own lantern. (see photo 2)

Make your own oven and use it! A unique culinary teambuilding experience: make your earth oven and cook your food with it! First, you need to collect and stack up blocks of earth. Sticks are collected to start the fire. Once the bricks turn red hot, whole chicken and sweet potatoes are put in, followed by some more bricks and sand to smother the food. After two to four hours… bon appétit! (see photo 3)