World Travel News

The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) on September 20 officially launched www.meettaiwan.com, a web portal specifically aimed at developing Taiwan’s MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions) industry and promoting MICE business.

Being a platform integrating all information on and resources relevant to meetings, conventions, exhibitions and tourism, the web portal is intended to introduce Taiwan’s MICE advantages, potential and capabilities to international organizers of conventions/exhibitions, multinationals and international organizations, according to MOEA. The web portal has three language versions, traditional Chinese, English and Japanese.

MOEA established its MICE Project Office specifically for carrying out a four-year MICE Industry Development Plan with a total budget of US$33.5 million.

Source: digitimes.com

Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen left for Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to offer Taiwan’s condolences on the death of King Fahd. The minister also met the new monarch, Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, during his stay, a government official told the Taipei Times.

“Chen’s trip showed that Taiwan and Saudi Arabia have very good relations with each other,” a high-ranking official who wished to remain anonymous said.

The official said the government has refused to confirm the trip for the sake of “protecting the country’s interests.”

Although the minister successfully arrived in Saudi Arabia as a delegate of President Chen Shui-bian without being obstructed by the Chinese government, the official said that “you never know when China will do bad things to you.”

Later yesterday, Michel Lu , spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reiterated that he had no comment on this information, which local Chinese-newspapers had reported earlier last week.

While Saudi Arabia is not one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, the two countries have maintained fairly close and substantial relations.

More: taipeitimes.com

Panama is not on the itinerary of President Chen Shui-bian’s planned visit to Central America and the Caribbean in the near future, Chen’s chief of staff said on Sunday.

Yu Shyi-kun, secretary-general to the president, was commenting on media reports that Panama has responded half-heartedly to President Chen’s planned visit.

Noting that Chen has been to Panama three times in the past few years, Yu said Panama is not on the itinerary for this trip.

Chen is scheduled to leave Taipei in late August or early September to attend the fifth ROC-Central America summit meeting in Nicaragua.

Presidential Office officials said earlier this month that in addition to attending the leadership meeting, Chen may also visit several of Taiwan’s Central American and Caribbean allies, particularly those which he has yet to visit since assuming the presidency in 2000.

More: english.www.gov.tw

China’s willingness to deal with the “Travel Agency Association of the Republic of China, Taiwan” in talks for opening up the nation to Chinese tourists is a breakthrough in cross-strait relations, a Mainland Affairs Council official said yesterday.

The official said the development demonstrated that cross-strait negotiations are not necessarily always complicated and a deal on Chinese tourists could be reached so long as both sides can set aside their differences, lay no preconditions, and act pragmatically.

Fu Don-cheng , director of the council’s economic affairs department, made the remarks at a press conference yesterday.

Following the council’s June 28 announcement that the Chinese authorities had agreed to deal with the association, local Chinese-language newspapers reported on June 30 that the title of the association might hinder the proceedings, as Chinese officials were unhappy about the “Republic of China” phrase in its title.

The reports also said that the association had prepared to alter its title to conform to Chinese demands, and offered alternative titles such as the “Association of Travel Agents of Taiwan.” But the head of the association, Tseng Sheng-hai (???), refused to alter the title.

More: taipeitimes.com

The Presidential Office denied a media report yesterday that some of Taiwan’s Central American allies have given cool responses to plans for a visit by President Chen Shui-bian .

“The report is untrue,” said Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General James Huang .

Chen is scheduled to visit Nicaragua in September to attend a summit meeting of the top leaders of the nation’s diplomatic allies in Central America and the Caribbean. He is also expected to visit several other countries in the region before or after the summit.

According to the media report, the Presidential Office has been forced to postpone its plan to dispatch an advance team to negotiate with the allies regarding Chen’s itinerary and security measures, because those countries have given a lukewarm response to Chen’s travel plans.

More: taipeitimes.com