KOBE and OSAKA, Japan, Sept. 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Taoyuan City has strengthened its tourism ties with Japan's Kansai region through a promotional mission to Kobe and Osaka on September 11–12. Led by Director Chen Ching-Fang of the Taoyuan Department of Tourism, the delegation included local tourism businesses engaging in exchanges with the Kobe Tourism Bureau, JATA Hyogo Branch, Arima Hot Spring Association, and regional partners. This marked a new stage of collaboration, expanding from government-level dialogue to practical business-to-business connections.
The Taoyuan Department of Tourism hosted a tourism promotion event in Osaka, inviting leading Japanese travel companies such as JTB, Nippon Travel Agency, and Kinki Nippon Tourist, further advancing Taoyuan’s development of overseas tourism markets.
In Kobe, the delegation also visited local schools with the city's Education Bureau to explore opportunities in student travel and SDGs initiatives. Director Chen highlighted that the partnership with Kobe, first established in 2022, has already shown results in the school trip sector and now provides broader opportunities for industry engagement.
On September 12, Taoyuan hosted its first tourism seminar in Osaka, introducing the concept "Taoyuan: The Starting Point of Your Journey." With Japan ranking as Taoyuan's largest overseas market—over 1.32 million Japanese visited Taiwan in 2024, including 140,000 overnight stays in Taoyuan—the city promoted seamless travel experiences directly from Taoyuan International Airport. Highlights included coastal 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 also showcased its three tourism brands—Pearl Coast, Great Dragon Gate, and Northern Cross-Island Exploration—while promoting its culinary appeal, from goose dishes to indigenous cuisine. A promotional video featuring Japanese celebrity Angela Sato at Taoyuan's night market drew strong attention both in Taiwan and Japan, supported by ad placements 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, further boosting Taoyuan's presence in Japan's tourism market.
