The 10th “Taiwan-Japan Tourism Summit Forum” kicked off at Kagawa Prefecture, Shikoku in Japan on June 1, and Mayor Lin was invited to address over 200 tourism industry representatives from Taiwan and Japan in order to present Taichung City and 2018 Taichung World Flora Exposition. A consensus was reached between Taiwan and Japan to make Taichung City the official host of next year’s Summit Forum. According to Mayor Lin, in conjunction with the flora expo, the Summit Forum is expected to attract an additional 1 million tourists to visit Taiwan, in turn bridging the tourism deficit between the two countries.

Inaugurated in Taipei City in 2008, “Taiwan-Japan Tourism Summit Forum” has been hosted by Taiwan and Japan in alternation over the years, making it a grand event on the annual tourism calendar of the two nations. Roughly 90 delegates from Taiwan attended this year’s Summit Forum held in Kagawa Prefecture, including Mayor Lin, Taiwan Visitors Association President Chu-lan Yeh, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan Representative Frank Hsieh, Tourism Bureau, MOTC Director-general Yung-hui Chou, China Airlines Chairman Nuan-hsuan Ho as well as the Chairpersons and General Managers of major travel agents.

In total, 172 delegates from Japan including Kagawa Prefecture Governor Keizo Hamada, Chairman of JTTA Norio Yamaguchi, Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Yoshiaki Hompo and JATA Chairman Hiromi Tagawa all personally attended the meeting, which gathered more than 200 influential figures from the Taiwanese and Japanese tourism industry under one roof.

According to statistics, outbound tourists from Taiwan to Japan last year amounted to approximately 4.167 million, while only about 1.895 million Japanese tourists visited Taiwan, therefore the purpose of this meeting is to find ways to narrow the gap between the two countries. Taiwan Visitors Association President Chu-lan Yeh suggested that the future goal is to focus on balancing the number of tourists from both countries, hoping to comprehensively improve the quality and quantity of tourism. Chairman Norio Yamaguchi also mentioned that the number of tourists between Taiwan and Japan has exceeded 6 million last year, therefore in the future the emphasis is not only placed on attracting Taiwanese tourists to Japan but also vice versa in order to achieve proportionate growth for outbound and inbound tourists.

Lastly, a unanimous decision was made to make Taichung City the host city for the next Taiwan-Japan Tourism Summit Forum. Mayor Lin was invited to brief over 200 tourism industry representatives on Taichung’s City’s tourism and cultural resources, and he also extended invitation to all the guests to visit Taichung for the world flora expo. In his presentation, Mayor Lin pointed out that Taichung City has proactively engaged in diverse exchange with Japan; besides organizing the Taichung International Dance Parade & Festival and conducting cultural exchange, Taichung has forged ties with Oita Prefecture and Aomori Prefecture, while architecture in Taichung City including Old Taichung City Hall, Miyahara, National Taichung Theater and Baileng Canal all have Japanese origins.

Mayor Chia-lung Lin indicated that Taichung as the host city has the ability and willingness to ensure the success of the forum. Furthermore, the city will take the opportunity of hosting the Taiwan-Japan Tourism Summit Forum to market 2018 Taichung World Flora Exposition, hoping to attract an additional 1 million Japanese tourists to Taiwan. In doing so, not only will tourism deficit between Taiwan and Japan be diminished, more Japanese people will also be able to visit central and southern Taiwan to appreciate Taichung’s historic monuments, gourmet foods, hot spring and National Taichung Theater.

In addition, in order to welcome guests from Taiwan, the organized hosted a welcoming banquet on the evening of May 31. During the banquet, Mayor Lin, Taiwan Visitors Association President Chu-lan Yeh, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan Representative Frank Hsieh, Kagawa Prefecture Governor Keizo Hamada, Chairman of JTTA Norio Yamaguchi, Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Yoshiaki Hompo, Tokushima Prefecture Governor Kamon Iizumi, Kochi Prefecture Governor Ozaki Masanao and Ehime Prefecture Deputy Governor Joko Toshifumi beat the Japanese sake barrel together as a symbol of blessing and congratulating the success of the forum in advance. Next, Mayor Lin also exchanged gifts with Kagawa Prefecture Governor Keizo Hamada to symbolize the long-lasting friendship between the two regions.