August 2014: The Taiwan Tourism Bureau has joined forces with Google to launch a global competition for travellers to share their experiences of visiting the country through video stories on YouTube. Videos will be voted for by the general public, with the winner getting a round-the-world flight ticket, as well as a chance to become an ambassador for Taiwan.

Dubbed 'Anytime for Taiwan – Film, Taiwan, Action' the competition invites tourists to capture personal stories of travelling in Taiwan. As an incentive, organisers will pay film makers NT$1 (around 1p) for each vote received, up to a maximum of NT$2 million (£40,000). Videos must be uploaded between now and August 14 2015 on the event's official YouTube channel, with travellers encouraged to shoot a variety of subjects, from festivals to food, culture and shopping.

The competition has been created to inspire more visitors searching for travel information on the internet, following a recent survey by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau which indicated that over 60 per cent of visitors to Taiwan searched for information about their visit on the internet prior to their visit. Statistics released by Taiwan Tourism Bureau also reveal that the number of visitors to Taiwan broke eight million in 2013 and is expected to grow to nine million this year.

David W. J. Hsieh, director-general, Taiwan Tourism Bureau commented: “The tourism industry plays a significant role in Taiwan's economic development. We believe that this global campaign is the best of two worlds, leveraging technology to bring innovation to the tourism industry. With the support of YouTube, the Tourism Bureau is taking Taiwan to the global stage. We welcome travellers around the world to upload their videos to YouTube to win an opportunity to become tourism ambassadors for Taiwan.”

For more information on the campaign or to upload a video, please visit: http://anytimefortaiwan.eventaiwan.tw/

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