On October 15, at 8 PM local time in the Netherlands, the Green Destinations Foundation (GD) hosted the online announcement of the 2024 Green Destinations Top 100 Stories. The Tourism Bureau of the Taichung City Government competed against 170 destination stories from 32 countries around the world. With its story, “From the unexpected to the surprising ‘Flowers’ energizes community life,” Taichung was selected as one of the best cases. This marks a record achievement, as it is the first and only city in Taiwan to receive this recognition, positioning Taichung as a standout in the global green tourism sector!

According to Director Chen Mei-hsiu of the Tourism Bureau, the Green Destinations Foundation, a non-profit organization from the Netherlands, has been organizing the Green Destinations Top 100 Stories Awards since 2014 to encourage the sharing of sustainable stories and the implementation of sustainable development goals, fostering global exchange and learning. In 2023, the Tourism Bureau joined the sustainable tourism destination certification system, promoting a tourism model focused on low carbon, low emissions, and low pollution. At the same time, they are creating vibrant city tour experiences to attract international visitors to Taichung.

Director Chen highlighted that this year marks the first participation in the Taichung International Flower Carpet Festival, which centers on local themes like natural ecology, agricultural development, and human intelligence. The festival is dedicated to sustainable development, prioritizing the ongoing protection of local culture and the environment. It successfully passed two evaluation rounds, distinguishing itself among a large pool of international contestants. The festival has also earned the Best Domestic Tourism Potential Award from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and a Platinum award for Conceptual Design at the MUSE Design Awards in the U.S. Recently, it added the 2024 Green Destinations Top 100 Stories Awards to its accolades. Director Chen expressed deep gratitude for the acknowledgment from various sectors regarding the Tourism Bureau's efforts.

The Tourism Bureau noted that Xinshe in Taichung is renowned for its cultivation of crops such as fruits and mushrooms. In 2005, the Taiwan Seed Improvement and Propagation Station, Ministry of Agriculture, utilized the farmland to display advancements in seed cultivation technology, extensively sowing green manure flowers like sunflowers, rapeseed, and garden cosmos. This effort led to the creation of a 32-hectare countryside flower sea, which unexpectedly drew a significant number of visitors. Following the merger of counties and cities in 2011, the Taichung City Government collaborated with the Ministry of Agriculture to create the Xinshe Sea of Flowers x Taichung International Flower Carpet Festival. Through improvements in traffic flow, local economy, and environmental management, they mitigated the negative effects caused by tourists, gradually addressing the problems associated with overtourism and allowing Xinshe to develop into a sustainable tourism hotspot.

The Tourism Bureau added that the Xinshe Sea of Flowers x Taichung International Flower Carpet Festival will be held this year from November 9 to December 1, totaling 23 days and covering four weekends. Welcome to appreciate the stunning floral scenery, as well as to explore the enchanting floral arrangements made up of 200,000 flowers. Please check the Taichung Tourism website (https://travel.taichung.gov.tw/) for more travel information.