“Love Taiwan!” Free downloadable travel e-book app for Taiwan

Written/Compiled and reported by Chi Binghui

With smartphones in the hands of nearly everyone in Taiwan and tablet computers rapidly gaining popularity, daily app downloads are reaching astonishing numbers. The Tourism Bureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications has targeted the global community of Apple fans and travelers by launching a free English-language Taiwan travel e-book (Taiwan eBook) for download. It features 101 attractions across Taiwan and 20 recommended routes, which the public can make good use of.

The English-language Taiwan travel e-book (Taiwan eBook) is available for free download via iTunes and the App Store for users of iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Its content is organized around five major themes: ecology, cycling, urban life, art, and culture. Before setting off, travelers can download the Taiwan eBook and browse Taiwan’s natural and cultural attractions. They can also save planned destinations or recommended itineraries to their phone’s photo album to save time searching during the trip. Each attraction listing includes a contact phone number and address, allowing travelers to get first-hand information directly via phone calls en route. In addition, the eBook’s satellite positioning system works with Google Maps—just enter the address of an attraction from the eBook, and you’ll instantly get directions from your “current location” to the “attraction location.”

>In addition to being available for free download on iTunes and the App Store, the public can also download the Taiwan eBook from the Tourism Bureau’s North American promotional website at www.go2taiwan.net. Unlike the mobile version, the desktop edition of the Taiwan eBook features interactive video guides with real hosts, introducing Taiwan’s five major tourist resources in vivid and fluent English. Global internet users can also watch videos on the site featuring performances by the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, national treasures from the National Palace Museum, the Kaohsiung World Games Stadium, the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, the Flying Fish Festival on Orchid Island, and the Mazu Pilgrimage in Dajia. Coupled with the Tourism Bureau’s Travel in Taiwan English-language bimonthly magazine (available for free download and reading on iPad and Android devices via www.zinio.com), these resources help attract travelers from around the world to visit Taiwan.