Taiwan Tourism Administration's 2025 Southern California Tourism Promotion Campaign Integrates U.S. Pop Culture to Promote Taiwan, Wins MUSE Creative Gold Award
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- This year, Taiwan Tourism Administration's Los Angeles office, brought several influencers with huge followings to enjoy the 2025 Solar Festival, which showcases a vibrant series of events which encourage people to cool off in Taiwan during the summer months each year. The festival invites travelers to immerse themselves in a season of music, art, tradition, and community celebrations held throughout the island. The Taiwan Tourism Administration (TTA) reimagined in 2025 by reimagining its influencer marketing approach. Moving beyond the traditional focus on travel and food creators, TTA partnered with high-impact talent in the dance and LGBTQ+ communities to showcase Taiwan through innovative and culturally engaging storytelling. These efforts were part of a year-long campaign that brought Taiwan into the feeds and hearts of millions.
Taiwan Tourism Administration’s 2025 Southern California Tourism Promotion Campaign Integrates U.S. Pop Culture to Promote Taiwan, Wins MUSE Creative Gold Award
The campaign forms part of the global rollout of Taiwan's new tourism brand, "Taiwan – Waves of Wonder." By blending online and offline activations, TTA successfully expanded Taiwan's visibility across North America. As of August 2025, the campaign had achieved over 200 million digital impressions, more than 5 million engagements, 250,000 onsite spectators, and 26,000 direct participants at live events.
#DanceToTaiwan: Taiwan Meets Global Pop Culture
To kick off the campaign, TTA invited three of the world's most popular dance influencers, Fik-Shun, Vik White, and Lauren Gibson, to explore Taiwan. With a combined following of more than 36.8 million, the trio captured choreography set against Taiwan's most iconic landmarks, including the Taipei 101, Rainbow Village, Gaomei Wetlands, and Kaohsiung's Dragon and Tiger Pagodas.
The content they created integrated Taiwan's natural beauty with popular culture, delivering high-energy videos that resonated with global audiences. In addition to the official campaign track, they filmed dances to trending music, further boosting reach and visibility.
The campaign's next phase launched the public #DanceToTaiwan challenge. Participants posted their own dance videos for a chance to win one of three roundtrip flights to Taiwan via China Airlines.
The campaign also took shape offline, with the Los Angeles office partnering with airlines and travel agencies to stage a major brand activation at Westfield Century City, and making history as the first foreign tourism board to join LA Pride.
"By using dance as a language, we reached millions of new viewers who may never have considered Taiwan before," said Vivian Lin, Director of the Tourism Division at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles. "This campaign celebrated creativity, culture, and connection, and Taiwan was at the heart of it."
A Journey of Love: Garrett Clayton and Blake Knight Explore Taiwan
As the campaign evolved, TTA Los Angeles welcomed actor Garrett Clayton and his husband, screenwriter Blake Knight, to Taiwan. The couple, who have a combined audience of more than 7.5 million, documented their romantic journey across the island.
Their itinerary included visits to Yehliu Geopark, Sun Moon Lake, Shifen Waterfall, and Jiu Fen Old Street, along with cultural experiences like a cooking class at CookInn Taipei, bubble tea-making, temple visits, and exploration of the LGBTQ+-friendly Ximen shopping district. They also enjoyed a charming photo and video session at Chiayi North Gate Station, in front of the vibrant Vivid Express Train's colorful presence. Their story, full of authenticity and emotion, highlighted Taiwan as Asia's most LGBTQ+-inclusive destination.
"As the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage, Taiwan continues to lead by example," Lin added. "Garrett and Blake's authentic journey resonated deeply with audiences and showcased Taiwan as Asia's most LGBTQ+-friendly destination."
Recognition from MUSE Creative Awards Highlights Campaign's Success
In recognition of the strength and creativity of this campaign, the Taiwan Tourism Administration Los Angeles office was awarded the Gold Award for Integrated Marketing Campaign at the prestigious MUSE Creative Awards. The award honored how the campaign seamlessly tied together these high-impact familiarization trips with the broader year-long marketing strategy to elevate Taiwan's visibility in North America.
Shifting the Narrative: A Broader Vision for Taiwan Tourism
Together, these influencer journeys were part of a broader strategy by TTA Los Angeles to engage creators from diverse communities and genres. The combined digital content from these initiatives generated more than 200 million impressions worldwide.
By moving beyond conventional travel content and tapping into dance, identity, romance, and digital culture, TTA Los Angeles helped bring the Waves of Wonder brand to life in powerful and memorable ways.
Looking ahead, Lin said: "The Taiwan Lantern Festival is one of our most important annual international events. In 2026, it will be held in Chiayi from March 3 to 15 under the theme 'Illuminate Chiayi, Light Up Taiwan.' With iconic sites such as Alishan, the Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum, and the Tropic of Cancer Marker, Chiayi offers a unique stage for an immersive cultural experience that international visitors will not want to miss."
ABOUT TAIWAN TOURISM ADMINISTRATION
The Taiwan Tourism Administration (TTA) is the official government agency of Taiwan (R.O.C.) responsible for domestic and international tourism policy development and execution. The Southwestern US market is managed by the Los Angeles office of TTA. The marketing slogan currently in use for Taiwan is "Waves of Wonder." The official ambassador of TTA is OhBear, a cartoon Formosan Black Bear, the national animal of Taiwan.
For more information about Taiwan tourism, please visit the official website of the Taiwan Tourism Administration: eng.taiwan.net.tw
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