Asia’s first World Spirits Competition to debut at Kaohsiung Arena in June next year

Written/Compiled and Reported by MOOK Travel Life Network's Chen Guanxin

Kaohsiung City, which has been vigorously promoting tourism and bidding to host international competitions, has secured the hosting rights for the “Spirits Competition” under the world’s largest wine and spirits evaluation event—the Brussels World Spirits Competition—and it will be held at Kaohsiung Arena from June 7–9, 2013. This marks not only the first time the Brussels World Spirits Competition is being held in Asia, but also makes Kaohsiung the only city in Asia to be awarded the hosting rights.

The Brussels World Spirits Competition, with a history of nineteen years, is the most authoritative and largest spirits evaluation event in the world. It attracts nearly ten thousand wine and spirits entries from over fifty countries globally each year, with hundreds of top experts participating in the judging process, as well as journalists from around the world covering the event. Due to the large number of spirits entries, the 2013 competition was divided for the first time into two separate events: the Spirits Competition and the Wine Competition. The spirits market in the Asia region has been growing year by year and plays a significant role in the global spirits consumption market.

Thomas Costenoble, President of the Brussels World Spirits Competition, stated that hosting the World Spirits Competition helps enhance a city’s international exchange and image. Many internationally renowned cities have gone to great lengths to compete for the hosting rights, making the competition very fierce. As the only city in Asia to secure the hosting rights, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu hopes to increase the city’s global visibility and effectively promote tourism through hosting such an important international event. She also noted that many of Kaohsiung’s specialty fruits, such as its Yuhuabao lychees, can be processed and fermented into alcoholic beverages. This not only increases the value of agricultural products but can also become iconic representations of high-end agriculture with international recognition. In the future, the city plans to support local distilleries and develop rural wineries, select high-quality spirits for competition, and promote the development of distinctive local spirits made from regional agricultural products, thereby driving a trend of destination tourism centered on production areas.

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