Debut of MEET TAIWAN App
After the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) began promoting the Taiwan MICE Advancement Program and MEET TAIWAN in 2009, the Taiwanese convention and exhibition industry’s ICCA (International Congress & Conference Association) ranking has steadily improved. According to ICCA Statistics Report 2011: International Association Meetings Market, Taiwan ranks number 4 among Asian countries, while Taipei City is the city with the second highest number of exhibitions and conventions held in Asia, trailing only Singapore. This demonstrates Taiwan’s outstanding results in terms of hosting exhibitions and conventions.
MEET TAIWAN App Shares Ingenuity in a Unique Manner to Market Taiwan
Considering that green exhibitions and conventions have become a global industry trend, BOFT’s 2011 MEET TAIWAN Awards Ceremony also demonstrated the MEET TAIWAN App, which was led and developed by BOFT to integrate industry needs. It features built-in functions such as info, program, speakers, news, my schedule, floor plan, social events, sponsors, practical information and maps to allow participants to grasp the meeting development instantaneously and never miss any important information.
The MEET TAIWAN App not only features thoughtful, intelligent services for international conferences, but also offers a share function. Through this function, international participants can use the photo uploading and messaging mechanism integrated into the app to share the sights that they have seen in Taiwan with their families or friends overseas in real time, either through a work of installation art at the venue or through online communities in the Internet (primarily based on Facebook during the initial stages). To enhance the sense of fun, once the user uploads the photo, the app’s flash mechanism will simulate the composite image of the user and various famous scenic spots in Taiwan. This in turn achieves the tangible benefit of marketing Taiwan’s tourism attractions and exhibition and conference capabilities. The birth of the MEET TAIWAN App not only illustrates Taiwan’s initiative in echoing the spirit of green exhibitions and conventions, but also symbolizes Taiwan’s entry into the new era of intelligent technology and services.

Taiwan MICE Advancement
In-sync with the International Pulse
The MEET TAIWAN App is the first of its kind in the world, and the intelligent app will be established by the government after integrating industry requirements. The app is scheduled to become available for international conferences held in Taiwan toward the end of the year; in the future, it will be promoted to various PCOs and international conference organizers to facilitate any international meeting held in Taiwan.
BOFT expects that as the number of users of MEET TAIWAN App increases in the future, international participants’ good experiences with it will also lead to a word-of-mouth marketing effect enhancing the value and reputation of the MEET TAIWAN App. It should help to bolster Taiwan’s professional image as an exhibition and convention host nation with intelligent, high-tech services. The ultimate goal is to equip Taiwan’s exhibition and convention industry with more niche market advantages when competing for international conferences in the future.