Tainan’s Old House Homestays Recognized in Green Destinations Top 100 Stories
Posted Date:2025-11-11
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Introduce
Good news has arrived from the Green Destinations Global Conference 2025 held in Occitanie, France. At the “2025 Green Destinations Top 100 Stories” awards held on the evening of September 29, local time, the Tourism Bureau of Tainan City Government was named one of the winners of the story awards with its entry of “Old Town, New Stories.” Mayor Huang Wei-che said that Tainan’s efforts in sustainable development has now been recognized by the international green travel market as one of the only two cities in Taiwan to receive this accolade.
The Dutch-based non-profit Green Destinations Foundation began hosting the Green Destinations Top 100 Stories competition in 2014. The sharing of sustainability stories from different destinations highlights the implementation of sustainable development goals in each country. Entrants must go through the first round of judging on basic sustainability principles before they can continue onto the second round of “Good Practice Stories.” The Tourism Bureau became a member of the Green Destinations Foundation in 2023 in support of global environmental sustainability goals. This year, old houses were chosen as the theme of the city’s entry into the Top 100 Stories competition against a field of more than 180 destinations from 38 countries.
Director-General Lin Kuo-hua from the Tourism Bureau stated that Tainan has long supported the development of sustainable tourism. Thanks to the combined efforts of regulators and travel accommodation associations, Old house homestays have become a brand for quality homestays and are being run in a sustainable manner through the “Homestay Management Compact” such as not creating a local disturbance, not interfering with local traffic, use of energy-efficient and water-saving equipment, and promotion of local culture. In addition to being recognized by the central government on numerous occasions, the initiative also recruited accommodation providers to serve as tourism promoters and communicators of Tainan’s local cultural features. The brand value of Tainan’s homestays has now won the recognition of the international green travel market.
The Tainan City Government began promoting the sustainable development of old houses over three phases in 2012. In addition to liaising closely with central government agencies on amendments to the Regulations for the Management of Home Stay Facilities, a series of related policies have also been introduced since 2013. These included the publication of the “Tainan Xuancheng Tourism District” management plan, the Total Travel Accommodation Quota Management Survey Plan, the establishment of an inter-agency coordination platform for tourism districts, and a mentoring platform for the legalization of homestays. Finally, the “Homestay Management Compact” to promote public-private partnership was introduced for the continuous improvement of tourism quality.
The Tourism Bureau noted that the award represented affirmation of sustainable tourism. Inter-agency cooperation will be maintained in the future to develop more local, experiential, low-carbon itineraries in keeping with Tainan's character, thereby realizing the sustainability vision of balancing cultural preservation with tourism development. A public-private partnership will also continue to work towards making Tainan a quality destination where local and overseas travelers can feel safe.
The Dutch-based non-profit Green Destinations Foundation began hosting the Green Destinations Top 100 Stories competition in 2014. The sharing of sustainability stories from different destinations highlights the implementation of sustainable development goals in each country. Entrants must go through the first round of judging on basic sustainability principles before they can continue onto the second round of “Good Practice Stories.” The Tourism Bureau became a member of the Green Destinations Foundation in 2023 in support of global environmental sustainability goals. This year, old houses were chosen as the theme of the city’s entry into the Top 100 Stories competition against a field of more than 180 destinations from 38 countries.
Director-General Lin Kuo-hua from the Tourism Bureau stated that Tainan has long supported the development of sustainable tourism. Thanks to the combined efforts of regulators and travel accommodation associations, Old house homestays have become a brand for quality homestays and are being run in a sustainable manner through the “Homestay Management Compact” such as not creating a local disturbance, not interfering with local traffic, use of energy-efficient and water-saving equipment, and promotion of local culture. In addition to being recognized by the central government on numerous occasions, the initiative also recruited accommodation providers to serve as tourism promoters and communicators of Tainan’s local cultural features. The brand value of Tainan’s homestays has now won the recognition of the international green travel market.
The Tainan City Government began promoting the sustainable development of old houses over three phases in 2012. In addition to liaising closely with central government agencies on amendments to the Regulations for the Management of Home Stay Facilities, a series of related policies have also been introduced since 2013. These included the publication of the “Tainan Xuancheng Tourism District” management plan, the Total Travel Accommodation Quota Management Survey Plan, the establishment of an inter-agency coordination platform for tourism districts, and a mentoring platform for the legalization of homestays. Finally, the “Homestay Management Compact” to promote public-private partnership was introduced for the continuous improvement of tourism quality.
The Tourism Bureau noted that the award represented affirmation of sustainable tourism. Inter-agency cooperation will be maintained in the future to develop more local, experiential, low-carbon itineraries in keeping with Tainan's character, thereby realizing the sustainability vision of balancing cultural preservation with tourism development. A public-private partnership will also continue to work towards making Tainan a quality destination where local and overseas travelers can feel safe.
