Tainan Unveils Trams for Spring-Autumn Fashion, Triggering another Fad for Ancient City Tourism in Hong Kong
Posted Date:2025-06-04
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Introduce
Tainan City has embarked on an aggressive marketing campaign to capture a slice of the international self-guided tour market. Autumn-fall themed full-bus ads were launched in conjunction with Hong Kong’s classic “Tram line” to replicate the beauty of Tainan in all of its glory on Hong Kong Street. When the spring morning and autumn radiance fade into movie canvases that record people going through the streets of Hong Kong, they will see the charm of Tainan as a historic camp quietly return to the bucket list of Hong Kong travelers. According to Tourism Administration of MOTC statistics, Hong Kong has long been one of Taiwan's key source markets with visitor numbers repeatedly peaking before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. Even though visitor numbers saw a steep decline due to COVID-19, this was quickly corrected in 2024. The number of Hong Kong visitors to Taiwan saw significant growth in 2024, reaching 1.19 million.
Mayor Huang Wei-che noted that Hong Kong is a key tourist market for Tainan. Most Hong Kong travelers are in Taiwan for short self-guided tours with an emphasis on food, shopping, and culture & creative experiences. Rather than group tours, they prefer to explore cultural and historic districts. Transportation and comfort are also important in their choice of accommodation. As the food, cultural and ancient capital of Taiwan, the diverse food, culture & creativity, history, and science tourism resources of Tainan make it the top choice for Hong Kong travelers.
Director-General Lin Kuo-hua from the Tourism Bureau said that the latest advertisement showcased the sights of Tainan through “Spring of the year, dawn of the day” and “Autumn of the year, dusk of the day.” For spring, the Erliao Sunrise Pavilion which boasts the most number of clear sunrises in Taiwan was chosen. The interplay of dawn light and cloud sea symbolized the energy and hope in the Tainan travel brand; for autumn, the Beimen Jingzaijiao Salt Fields was chosen where the sunset over the salt crystals not only reflects on four centuries of cultural and land stores but has also become a popular attraction for autumn tourists. The advertising featuring unique sights from Tainan as its main visual was combined with the QR code for Travel Tainan to guide travelers to the latest information and planning tools.
To boost the profile and effectiveness of the advertisements, they were displayed on Hong Kong’s famous double-decker trams through full-body livery. Sustained exposure on city streets reinforced the visual memory and brand image. The six tram routes traveled all over popular tourist and commercial districts in Central, Wan Chai, and Causeway Bay. Total exposure is expected to exceed 1.28 million views, effectively expanding the visibility of Tainan's tourism brand in the lead-up to Hong Kong’s peak vacation period.
The Tourism Bureau of the Tainan City Government stated that in order to attract Hong Kong tourism to Taiwan, once tourist visas for free independent travel from Hong Kong and Macao were introduced, Tainan immediately held the “Tourism Industry Forum for Hong Kong Marketing” and signed MOUs with travel agencies for overseas travel in Hong Kong. The MOUs provided a platform for exploring mutual tourism strategies. Hong Kong media and key opinion leaders (KOLs) were also invited to visit Tainan as the food capital. Meanwhile, popular Hong Kong singer Aga’s production team visited famous Tainan destinations, such as Hayashi Department Store and Chuan Mei Theater, to shoot their music video for “Cafe Autumn.” To attract more international visitors to Tainan, the “2025 Tainan City International Tourism Incentive Program” was launched in March 2025 to provide every person with up to NT$800 in subsidies. Travelers from across the world are welcome to visit Tainan to experience our rich culture and unique atmosphere.
Tainan will continue to strengthen its image of “experience the most authentic Taiwan in Tainan” through brand internationalization as well as diversified media and digital targeted marketing. These will draw even more international travelers to this city with its rich cultural heritage and many surprises.
Mayor Huang Wei-che noted that Hong Kong is a key tourist market for Tainan. Most Hong Kong travelers are in Taiwan for short self-guided tours with an emphasis on food, shopping, and culture & creative experiences. Rather than group tours, they prefer to explore cultural and historic districts. Transportation and comfort are also important in their choice of accommodation. As the food, cultural and ancient capital of Taiwan, the diverse food, culture & creativity, history, and science tourism resources of Tainan make it the top choice for Hong Kong travelers.
Director-General Lin Kuo-hua from the Tourism Bureau said that the latest advertisement showcased the sights of Tainan through “Spring of the year, dawn of the day” and “Autumn of the year, dusk of the day.” For spring, the Erliao Sunrise Pavilion which boasts the most number of clear sunrises in Taiwan was chosen. The interplay of dawn light and cloud sea symbolized the energy and hope in the Tainan travel brand; for autumn, the Beimen Jingzaijiao Salt Fields was chosen where the sunset over the salt crystals not only reflects on four centuries of cultural and land stores but has also become a popular attraction for autumn tourists. The advertising featuring unique sights from Tainan as its main visual was combined with the QR code for Travel Tainan to guide travelers to the latest information and planning tools.
To boost the profile and effectiveness of the advertisements, they were displayed on Hong Kong’s famous double-decker trams through full-body livery. Sustained exposure on city streets reinforced the visual memory and brand image. The six tram routes traveled all over popular tourist and commercial districts in Central, Wan Chai, and Causeway Bay. Total exposure is expected to exceed 1.28 million views, effectively expanding the visibility of Tainan's tourism brand in the lead-up to Hong Kong’s peak vacation period.
The Tourism Bureau of the Tainan City Government stated that in order to attract Hong Kong tourism to Taiwan, once tourist visas for free independent travel from Hong Kong and Macao were introduced, Tainan immediately held the “Tourism Industry Forum for Hong Kong Marketing” and signed MOUs with travel agencies for overseas travel in Hong Kong. The MOUs provided a platform for exploring mutual tourism strategies. Hong Kong media and key opinion leaders (KOLs) were also invited to visit Tainan as the food capital. Meanwhile, popular Hong Kong singer Aga’s production team visited famous Tainan destinations, such as Hayashi Department Store and Chuan Mei Theater, to shoot their music video for “Cafe Autumn.” To attract more international visitors to Tainan, the “2025 Tainan City International Tourism Incentive Program” was launched in March 2025 to provide every person with up to NT$800 in subsidies. Travelers from across the world are welcome to visit Tainan to experience our rich culture and unique atmosphere.
Tainan will continue to strengthen its image of “experience the most authentic Taiwan in Tainan” through brand internationalization as well as diversified media and digital targeted marketing. These will draw even more international travelers to this city with its rich cultural heritage and many surprises.
