Foreigners’ Favorite Tourist Spots in Taiwan Revealed
The latest survey conducted by Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau in August 2025 has unveiled the top destinations favored by foreign tourists visiting Taiwan, and surprisingly, places like the National Palace Museum and Taipei 101 are not among the top choices.
According to the survey, Sun Moon Lake claimed the top spot, followed by Jiufen and the Pier-2 Art Center in Kaohsiung in the second and third spots, respectively. The National Palace Museum ranked only seventh on the list, whereas Taipei 101 was placed at the tenth spot.
The survey interviewed foreign tourists and Taiwanese expatriates who visited Taiwan in 2025, with a total of 6,660 valid responses collected, resulting in a sampling error of less than 1.2 percentage points.
Sun Moon Lake: 38.18%
Jiufen: 23.18%
Pier-2 Art Center: 21.69%
Tamsui: 16.45%
Yangmingshan: 13.69%
Yehliu: 12.80%
National Palace Museum: 12.40%
Pingxi: 12.12%
Beitou: 11.49%
Taipei 101: 9.69%
The Tourism Bureau’s survey found that food is the primary attraction for foreign tourists coming to Taiwan, with a whopping 82.84% of respondents considering Taiwanese cuisine and local snacks worth experiencing. Scenic beauty (73.90%) and Taiwan’s unique customs and culture (48.32%) followed closely behind.
Furthermore, factors such as good public safety (44.18%), friendly locals (42.84%), proximity to their home country (41.16%), shopping opportunities (40.10%), favorable climate (19.05%), historical sites (11.82%), and nighttime entertainment activities (11.36%) were cited as reasons for tourists to choose Taiwan for leisure and vacation.
The data reveals a continuous increase in the number of tourists visiting Taiwan in 2025, with a total of 8.5745 million visitors, staying an average of 6.95 nights and spending approximately $185.14 per day. The average expenditure per trip was $1,287, contributing a total tourism revenue of $11.033 billion for the year. Moreover, the overall satisfaction rate of tourists in Taiwan reached an impressive 99%.
Most visitors came to Taiwan for vacation purposes (63.28%), far exceeding those visiting friends and relatives (20.11%) and business travelers (12.30%). Only a small percentage came for international conferences or exhibitions (2.63%), education (0.20%), or medical purposes (0.89%), each accounting for less than 3%.
The survey also indicated that a significant portion of foreign tourists did their research before coming to Taiwan, with approximately 65% stating that they had seen Taiwan’s tourism advertisements or reports prior to their visit. Countries like Germany, the UK, and France were among the most well-prepared visitors, with rates exceeding 85%. Vietnam (84.84%) and Thailand (82.94%) followed closely behind.
Social media platforms emerged as the primary source of information for foreign tourists to learn about Taiwan, with nearly 90% of respondents obtaining travel information through social networks, followed by search engines (70.99%) and recommendations from friends and family (50.20%).
The majority of tourists were visiting Taiwan for the first time, accounting for 57.75% of respondents. Those who had visited twice made up 25.63%, while 10.53% had been to Taiwan three times. A significant 42% of visitors had returned to Taiwan within the past three years.
This article is based on the report from Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau on the “2025 Taiwan Visitor Consumption and Trends Survey.”