In collaboration with the “It’s Time for Taiwan” campaign, the Taiwan Tourism Bureau New York (TTBNY) held a “Taiwan Tour Bus Departing from New York” kick-off event that included a luxurious tour bus around New York City, and a high-profile ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by business partners including Simone Bassous, executive director of the PATA New York Chapter; Steve Chang, general manager of China Airlines’ New York Branch Office; Benjamin Wang, general manager of EVA Airways’ New York Operation; Marta Visu, vice president of Pacific Holiday; and Chris Serino, marketing manager of Vector Media.

The “Core of Culture” concept is the main theme and design for this year’s bus campaign. Within the core of the Taiwan culture is “Temple Festival” from which “Eight Infernal Generals” are selected as the most iconic figures to promote tourism. The promotion is expected to bring major brand awareness of Taiwan’s temple festival that will ultimately intrigue more travelers to visit Taiwan.

“Manhattan is a world-famous tourist destination, attracting over 50 million worldwide visitors each year,” said Thomas Chang, director of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau New York. “It’s crucial that we target this audience by having continuous advertising messages in front of them. The double-deck bus billboard concept gave us the perfect opportunity to showcase Taiwan and invite travelers to visit our beautiful island.”

Previously, TTBNY wrapped billboards on double-decker tour buses in the NYC Metropolitan District that generated positive feedbacks from the public and international tourists. In continuation of the successful campaign, TTBNY partnered with Vector Media to design the largest double-decker tour bus promotion this year by wrapping the billboard to fit three double-decker buses. The gigantic billboard tour buses will travel to popular attractions in Manhattan, where many tourists gather, such as the Empire State Building, Times Square and Central Park. The constant messaging of the three double-decker buses from June 18 to Sept. 26 will create even more publicity for Taiwan, and encourage the public and international tourists to visit Taiwan.

In addition to the three double-decker bus campaign, TTBNY is planning to launch a series of many large-scale promotional campaigns with the support from its business partners, airlines and general public. During the campaign period from June 18 to Sept. 26, Taiwan Tourism Bureau New York created a Facebook promotion page for consumers to win New York Mets tickets, Taiwan T-shirts and more. To win, consumers need to submit their photos of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau double-decker buses cruising around New York City.