Taiwan and Okinawa Team Up to Attract North American Travelers with "One Route, Two Stops" Asia Itinerary
The Taiwan Tourism Administration's New York Office and Japan's Okinawa Culture, Tourism and Sports Department jointly held a promotion event in New York, aiming to attract more North American travelers with a "Taiwan X Okinawa Asia One Route, Two Stops" itinerary for 2026. This marks the first joint tourism promotion between the two regions.
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- 📰 Published: May 8, 2026 at 10:52
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(Central News Agency Reporter Liao Han-yuan New York 7th Exclusive Report) Taiwan and Okinawa, Japan, are only about an hour and a half flight apart. Today, the Taiwan Tourism Administration's New York Office and Japan's Okinawa Culture, Tourism and Sports Department jointly held the "2026 Taiwan X Okinawa Asia One Route, Two Stops Travel Industry Promotion Briefing" in New York, aiming to attract more North American travelers to visit these two destinations.
Okinawa, located between Taiwan and Japan, possesses unique cultural and tourism charm. Over 700,000 Taiwanese tourists visit annually, but North American travelers may not be aware that Okinawa is geographically closer to Taiwan than to mainland Japan.
The Taiwan Tourism Administration's New York Office and Japan's Okinawa Culture, Tourism and Sports Department first collaborated on May 7th to hold the "2026 Taiwan X Okinawa Asia One Route, Two Stops Travel Industry Promotion Briefing" in the office hall in New York. They hope to combine the rich tourism resources of both regions and the advantage of frequent flights between Taiwan, Japan, and North America by various airlines to attract more tourists to both places.
Li Chih-chiang, Director of the New York Office, stated that this is the first time Taiwan and Okinawa have cooperated to promote tourism. People might wonder why Taiwan and Okinawa want to cooperate, but looking at a map provides the answer. The distance from Okinawa to Taipei is shorter than from Okinawa to Tokyo; it takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes from Taipei to Okinawa, while it takes over 2 hours from Okinawa to Tokyo, so promoting tourism together is a good idea.
Chuang Ching-chen, Director of the Taiwan Tourism Administration's New York Office, pointed out that travelers from the Eastern U.S. generally value cultural experiences, culinary exploration, and in-depth travel. Taiwan and Okinawa have highly complementary tourism characteristics, and with short flight times between them, they are very suitable for planning flexible and diverse Asian travel itineraries.
Uechi Tatsuya, Planning Director of the Okinawa Tourism Promotion Section, stated that Okinawa was selected by the New York Times this year as one of the 52 must-visit places globally for 2026. This is significant news for Japan and Okinawa, and they hope to utilize this historical opportunity to attract more visitors to explore the beautiful islands.
Representatives from China Airlines, EVA Air, and Japan Airlines also attended the briefing, introducing their flights between North America and various cities in Taipei and Japan.
To encourage more international travelers to Taiwan, the Tourism Administration continues to promote various travel incentives overseas. Today, for the first time, they collaborated internationally with neighboring Okinawa to hold a promotion briefing in New York. The event attracted a large number of Asian travel enthusiasts, hoping to boost North American visitors coming in the spring. (Edited by Chen Hui-ping)1150508
Okinawa, located between Taiwan and Japan, possesses unique cultural and tourism charm. Over 700,000 Taiwanese tourists visit annually, but North American travelers may not be aware that Okinawa is geographically closer to Taiwan than to mainland Japan.
The Taiwan Tourism Administration's New York Office and Japan's Okinawa Culture, Tourism and Sports Department first collaborated on May 7th to hold the "2026 Taiwan X Okinawa Asia One Route, Two Stops Travel Industry Promotion Briefing" in the office hall in New York. They hope to combine the rich tourism resources of both regions and the advantage of frequent flights between Taiwan, Japan, and North America by various airlines to attract more tourists to both places.
Li Chih-chiang, Director of the New York Office, stated that this is the first time Taiwan and Okinawa have cooperated to promote tourism. People might wonder why Taiwan and Okinawa want to cooperate, but looking at a map provides the answer. The distance from Okinawa to Taipei is shorter than from Okinawa to Tokyo; it takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes from Taipei to Okinawa, while it takes over 2 hours from Okinawa to Tokyo, so promoting tourism together is a good idea.
Chuang Ching-chen, Director of the Taiwan Tourism Administration's New York Office, pointed out that travelers from the Eastern U.S. generally value cultural experiences, culinary exploration, and in-depth travel. Taiwan and Okinawa have highly complementary tourism characteristics, and with short flight times between them, they are very suitable for planning flexible and diverse Asian travel itineraries.
Uechi Tatsuya, Planning Director of the Okinawa Tourism Promotion Section, stated that Okinawa was selected by the New York Times this year as one of the 52 must-visit places globally for 2026. This is significant news for Japan and Okinawa, and they hope to utilize this historical opportunity to attract more visitors to explore the beautiful islands.
Representatives from China Airlines, EVA Air, and Japan Airlines also attended the briefing, introducing their flights between North America and various cities in Taipei and Japan.
To encourage more international travelers to Taiwan, the Tourism Administration continues to promote various travel incentives overseas. Today, for the first time, they collaborated internationally with neighboring Okinawa to hold a promotion briefing in New York. The event attracted a large number of Asian travel enthusiasts, hoping to boost North American visitors coming in the spring. (Edited by Chen Hui-ping)1150508