Tainan and Kaohsiung Enter the ICCA Rankings:
In a report on global conference rankings in 2011 by the International Congress & Conference Association (ICCA), Tainan, a city in southern Taiwan, has entered the rankings for the first time. In the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions, Tainan is ranked 51st and Kaohsiung 23rd.
At present, most conferences in Tainan are held by pharmaceutical companies. Sometimes a conference will start in Taipei and then head south to Tainan on a Taiwanese cultural tour. The Kaohsiung City Government, meanwhile, is building a new convention and exhibition center that will be completed next year (2013). It will host the “2014 International Boat Show,” which will not only stimulate the development of the local yacht industry but also enhance Kaohsiung’s image as an international port.
Tainan’s rich culture and old and new architecture are powerful draws
In recent years, Tainan has promoted the restoration of old buildings and the preservation of historical monuments to create a distinctive local cultural and artistic space. At the Tainan Arts Festival held earlier this year, the Il Divo operatic pop vocal group performed at the Eternal Golden Castle, where the beautiful backdrop of historical monuments echoed their divine music. Tainan Mayor Lai Ching-Te said: “History does not exist merely in memory but should be connected closely with life. This way people can enjoy wonderful performances by top national and international groups in historical settings.” Accordingly, the Tainan City Government has opened several historical monuments as performance venues: Wude Temple, the Soulaungh Cultural Park, Nanying Green Heart Park, the Chin Men Theater, the Tsung-Yeh Arts and Cultural Center, Wu Garden and Old City Hall, and the Liu Family Historical House at Liuying, thus initiating the utilization and revitalization of these monuments.
The well-known Taiwanese performing group “Ten Drum Art Percussion Group” has rented a hundred-year-old sugar factory, where it has established the “Ten Drum Culture Village” as a regular performing base. Other tour and sight-seeing options available for companies and international conference participants are percussion lessons, guided tours of the old factory and the percussion hall, and one- or two-day package tours. Another place worth visiting is the 247-hectare Tree Valley Park, with its Tree Valley Life Science Museum, the Tree Valley Music Hall, a stadium, a high rope field and so forth. As the largest natural history museum in southern Taiwan, the Tree Valley Life Science Museum has a combined tablet computer and digital app guidance system that provides biology videos and commentaries and allows the uploading of pictures on social networks platforms through mobile application programs. Tree Valley Music Hall accommodates up to 500 people. In addition, an outdoor public area, a party space, an exhibition space and a conference center can also be rented. The park is the best option for companies to promote small travelling groups.
Parallel development of conventions and exhibitions in Kaohsiung
The “Kaohsiung World Trade Exhibition and Convention Center,” which will be completed at the end of next year (2013), will have a large exhibition space to accommodate 1,500 booths, a large convention hall for 2,000 people, two smaller convention halls for 800 people each, and several meeting rooms for 20 to 40 people. The wave-like design of the center reflects Kaohsiung’s maritime setting and is a perfect international and professional exhibition venue for Kaohsiung’s featured industries, such as the yacht building, machine and hardware, and fastener industries. After winning an outsourcing project this March from the “Kaohsiung Business Exhibition Center,” the Fangyuan Convention and Exhibition Company will soon take charge of its operations and management; the first activity will be the “Sports and Recreation Industry Exhibition” organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council. To distinguish it from the “Kaohsiung World Trade Exhibition and Convention Center,” its management model will focus on conventions supplemented with exhibitions, especially refined small- to- medium ones, providing another option for international convention and exhibition organizations.
Since these two important southern Taiwanese cities have attained ICCA convention and exhibition city rankings, a number of new facilities will be completed in the near future. Since the cities enjoy a better climate than their northern counterparts, activities will not be confined to indoor venues but extend to the outdoor environment, rendering more flexible use of the settings. Through the development of their convention and exhibition industry, the strength of the cities will gradually be unveiled internationally, thereby revealing the richness, diversity, and variety of Taiwan.
