Tourism experts from 20 countries are currently in Taiwan to attend an annual workshop hosted by the International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF). 

Held from November 5 to 14, the 2025 Workshop on Ecotourism is hosting 24 tourism experts from partner countries including Eswatini, Tuvalu, Guatemala, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Saint Kitts and Nevis, among others. The workshop explores how ecotourism can balance cultural preservation, environmental conservation, and community development. Through cross-cultural exchanges, participants are sharing innovative ideas to promote inclusive and resilient models of sustainable tourism.

Recognizing Taiwan as the origin of Austronesian culture, this year’s workshop highlights the topic of “Austronesian heritage,” and is being hosted at National Dong Hwa University. University Vice President Dr. Chung-Shan Shih spoke with participants at the event, while Professor Cheng-Cheng Li shared his experiences aboard the Alingano Maisu—a traditional voyaging canoe that revives Austronesian maritime culture. Experts from the Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF) in Japan were also invited to present successful cases of ecological sustainability initiatives in Pacific Island nations.

Participants also visited the Northeast and Yilan Coast National Scenic Area to learn firsthand about Taiwan’s green tourism models, local revitalization projects, and low-carbon transportation systems such as the “Taiwan Tourist Shuttle.” The itinerary included discussions on links between community planning and tourism, forest and marine conservation, and the current state of ecotourism development, enabling participants to gain a comprehensive understanding of Taiwan’s diverse approaches to sustainable travel.

With the 10-day workshop comes to a close, several participants have already weighed in on the event. One Eswatini participant remarked that Taiwan’s “Regional Revitalization Alliance” approach—a collaborative policy framework launched by the National Development Council (NDC) in 2019 to revitalize local economies and communities outside major urban areas—was highly inspiring. An Israeli participant was impressed by Taiwan’s practice of incorporating carbon reduction metrics into eco-tours, such as weighing waste before and after trips and calculating transport emissions to quantify the impact. Meanwhile, a Thai participant, who had previously cycled around Taiwan, praised the low-carbon cycling routes along Taiwan’s east coast as “among the finest in Asia.”

TaiwanICDF Deputy Secretary General Peifen Hsieh stated that many of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies possess strong potential for sustainable tourism. At the end of October, the TaiwanICDF concluded its one-month Dream-Building Program for Youth from Diplomatic Allies – Proposal Track, in which several young participants focused on sustainable tourism. This workshop further extended that commitment, weaving together Austronesian heritage with Taiwan-Japan experiences to showcase a tourism model that embodies both environmental resilience and local inclusiveness. It advances the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Diplomatic Allies Prosperity Projects, under which Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-long has promoted sustainable tourism as a flagship initiative.

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• Update: 2025/11/13
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