Mon, Nov 28, 2022 page12

• Taipei City Government trains hotel practitioners for opportunities in the post-pandemic era

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  As the government gradually eases travel entry restrictions, the number of inbound and outbound tourists from various countries has been increasing. Taiwan has officially entered the post-pandemic era with a relaxation of entry restrictions. With quarantine hotels becoming obsolete, there is an urgent need for transformation in the local hotel industry to boost tourism in Taipei City.

  The Department of Information and Tourism of the Taipei City Government joined hands with the Dream Travel Taiwan Association to host a training course on hotel industry transformation. The course is aimed at strengthening the resilience of the hotel industry and predicting trends. The participants responded that they have gained a great deal of knowledge from the lectures and experience shared by professionals from the fields of industry, government and academia.

  To promote recovery of the tourism industry, the “2022 Annual Taipei City Hotel Industry Transformation Course and Site Visits” was held over five sessions since October to train hundreds of hotel practitioners. The Taipei Department of Information and Tourism focused on four major aspects of transformation — sustainability, international hospitality, digital application and innovative marketing.

  

  The participants gained a lot in the hotel industry transformation course.

  In addition to reiterating guidelines for cleanliness, the course this year also focused on the reception of foreign guests to improve service quality and broadening the participants’ knowledge of international trends. The informative sessions garnered high praise from participants.

  Taipei Department of Information and Tourism Commissioner Liu Yi-ting (劉奕霆) said that to keep up with the global trend of sustainable development, the Taipei government passed legislation to achieve a net-zero emissions target by 2050 in June this year, becoming the country’s first local government to make such a commitment.

  Taipei strives to promote the city’s net-zero transition, and moves toward a future of carbon neutrality in step with the world. However, a shortage of labor in the hotel sector continues during recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Hotels at home and abroad have begun to widely use automated devices for reception, food delivery and cleaning. Demonstrating such technology, professionals showed how digital solutions can help hotel owners deal with lower staffing levels.

  

  Visiting Courtyard by Marriott Taipei Leofoo Hotel to see the cleaning robot, the participants found it novel and took pictures.

  To show how services targeted to foreign guests can be strengthened, the course invited international tour guides to talk about the best ways to welcome overseas visitors. There were also courses to teaching how to promote the charms of Taiwan, and how to digitally upgrade hotel software and hardware.

  Other courses included the application of big data and NFT in tourism, hotel hygiene and safety, branding, and consumer complaint resolution, which were targeted at meeting the industry’s needs coming out of the pandemic.

  Liu said that Taiwan has once again ranked second in the Global Muslim Tourism Index this year. Since 2019, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism has been promoting related programs, continuously enhancing a program to create a Muslim-friendly environment, and bolstering tourist attractions and the hotel industry in Taipei.

  

  Visiting the historical sites, the participants listened to the history and culture of the Rongjin Time Life Park.

  It has been four years since the department began improving facilities necessary for Muslim religious life, such as eating and praying. Many five-star hotels and quarantine hotel operators are optimistic about tourism recovery, as the phase of pandemic prevention comes to an end. Hotels all actively joined the mentoring program in the middle of the year, and look forward to the return of tourism prosperity.

  (Advertorial)

  

  Four participants shared their hotels’ experience in transformation and course feedback at the press conference.

  

  Turkish youtuber explained how to serve Muslim tourists.

  

  Experienced foreign tour guides shared anecdotes about receiving foreign guests.
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