Amid the political tensions between China and the United States, Taiwan remains, in fact, an independent territory. A significant portion of the local economy is driven by tourism, which has experienced rapid growth in recent years. Committed to attracting more tourists, the government is using various means to clearly articulate the image of the island, including its cultural and natural richness. The new tourism brand recently launched by the national tourism agency is part of these efforts, promising a wide range of experiences for visitors.
In 2023, Taiwan welcomed more than 6 million tourists. Most of them came from Japan, South Korea, the US, and South East Asia. However, these do not include mainland China, as the Chinese government banned any individual trips to the island in July 2019, while rare group tours are still possible.
When it comes to Taiwan’s brand itself, a new strategy under the slogan “TAIWAN – Waves of Wonder” has to additionally strengthen the tourism industry. According to Taiwan tourism agency’s CEO Zhou Cheng, tourism on the island has to keep pace with global trends and the continuous demand for innovations.
The Taiwan tourism agency has been committed to channel the industry into a sustainable development and digitalization by creating excellent experiences of journeys and innovative services. Therefore, they introduced a new marking system combining a modern, minimalist aesthetic with global tendencies to increase the recognizability and attractiveness of Taiwan. The new strategic outlook “Tourism 2030” promotes the island not as a “destination”, but as a place for “target travel”.
The tourism brand logo includes a wordmark with wavy letterforms. According to an original concept, this represents Taiwan’s mountains, ocean waves, curvy rivers, routes, and railroads. The orange shade is inherited from the previous logo to continue the brand’s visual tradition conveying warmth and the vital power of Taiwan.
The updated branding reflects a fresh approach by Taiwanese tourism authorities. In contrast to the old version, characterized by a stencil-like wordmark and the slogan “The Heart of Asia,” the new branding exhibits a more cohesive design. The previous stencil font was conceptually confusing in the context of tourism branding, potentially evoking luggage labels or military associations. Likewise, the former slogan did not align well with Taiwan’s geographical location. The icon featuring Taiwan-themed images within a heart shape could be perceived as visually cluttered.
On the other hand, the new branding is certainly more thoroughly conceived. The waves are a simple and elegant solution deliberately connected with the island’s assets, somewhat reminescent of the NASA worm logo. The wavy motif is also reproduced in branded images featuring great views of Taiwan. And that’s a really modern and appealing design. A similar consistency is found in the brand’s main image featuring an Asian black bear as a tourist against a backdrop of mountains and trees.
