A Complete Guide to “Messe Taoyuan,” Taiwan’s New MICE Hub — 23 Minutes from the International Airport; A Full Look at the Exhibition Hall, Conference Center, and Commercial Mall / Interview with the Operating Representative

Opened in 2024, “Messe Taoyuan” (桃園会展中心, Taoyuan Convention and Exhibition Center) stands at Taiwan’s gateway as a new landmark that blends artistry with functionality. It is designed as an ideal platform for large-scale international conferences, specialized trade fairs, corporate events, and industry exchange. With the potential to elevate Taiwan’s MICE industry into an Asia–Pacific hub, Messe Taoyuan offers a comprehensive venue solution. With the facility’s cooperation, this article presents a complete overview.

What Is Messe Taoyuan? Overview and Features of Taiwan’s Newest MICE Hub

Background of the Opening and the Operator, Interplan

Messe Taoyuan is a new MICE facility that officially opened on October 29, 2024. Its construction aimed to sustain industrial development in the Taoyuan region and was realized through collaboration among the central government, local government, and local companies. Operations are handled by Interplan, which not only manages exhibition venues but also organizes international events in-house. Catherine Tu, General Manager (CEO) of Interplan, concurrently serves as General Manager of an exhibition center in Kaohsiung and is also CEO of the Interplan Group. In the MICE business, Interplan works jointly with both central and local governments to advance projects, thereby strengthening the role of this multi-purpose complex.

Interplan website: https://www.interplan.group/en/interplan-go-beyond/
Official Website https://www.messetaoyuan.com.tw/en-us

Art is displayed throughout the facility.

The “Art Nouveau × MICE” Concept

Messe Taoyuan promotes a unique operating strategy under the concept of “Art Nouveau × MICE.” Based on the Taoyuan Art Corridor urban development plan, it integrates exhibition spaces, conference facilities, and the first-floor commercial area with urban planning to create a new international MICE experience. The facility is a “dual-center exhibition and conference” venue funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and it is the only complex MICE facility in Taiwan to combine functions of exhibition, conferences, art, and shopping/entertainment. Taoyuan City also places emphasis on the arts; just as museums are nearby, Messe Taoyuan itself aims to foster an environment closely connected to everyday life, art, and culture.

About Taoyuan City

Home to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport—the nation’s primary gateway—Taoyuan City is a core metropolis in northern Taiwan with a population of about 2.35 million. Upgraded to a special municipality in 2014, it has rapidly developed as a business hub leveraging proximity to the Taipei metropolitan area. The city hosts more than 30 industrial parks and is active in electronics, automotive, and logistics. Its output is the largest in Taiwan, accounting for roughly 18% of total manufacturing. A massive urban development project, “Taoyuan Aerotropolis,” including smart-city initiatives, is underway around the airport and is attracting strong interest from Japanese companies as a next-generation business hub. Tourism resources are also diverse, from Daxi Old Street with streetscapes from the Japanese era, to the scenic Shimen Reservoir, to the large-scale Gloria Outlets. Taoyuan is one of Taiwan’s most promising cities, where cutting-edge industry, international logistics, and rich culture converge.

Exceptional Accessibility: 20 Minutes from Taoyuan International Airport; Average 175 Minutes by Air to Major Asian Hubs

Messe Taoyuan’s prime location is a major strength. It is just six stations—about 20 minutes—from Taoyuan International Airport, and the official brochure notes a 23-minute travel time from the airport. It is a strategic base with average flight times of 175 minutes to five major Asian airports (Shanghai, Tokyo, Singapore, Bangkok, Seoul), and it is expected to serve as an international business hub. From Taipei Station, the venue can also be reached in about 30 minutes via Taiwan High Speed Rail (HSR). As of June 2025 at the time of our coverage, the HSR fare from Taipei Station to Taoyuan Station was TWD 160 (approx. JPY 750). After alighting at HSR Taoyuan Station, transfer to a local train for one stop to Taoyuan Sports Park Station; from there it is about a five-minute walk to the venue.

Road access is also convenient via National Freeway No. 1 (Zhongli Interchange), and the facility offers an indoor parking garage for 700 vehicles, including electric-vehicle charging stations.

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Facility Details: Exhibition Hall, Conference Building, and Commercial Mall

Messe Taoyuan spans a total area of 76,000 m², with a conference hall complex capable of accommodating up to 8,800 attendees. The overall design adopts a box-in-box structure that brings in natural daylight, delivers excellent sound insulation, and enables highly flexible space configurations.

Exhibition Hall: Expansive Space with Exceptional Flexibility

One of the facility’s primary functions is the exhibition hall. The indoor exhibition area totals 10,120 m² and can accommodate approximately 600 standard booths. The hall features a spacious, column-free design with a 12-meter ceiling height, enabling flexible responses to a wide variety of exhibitions and events. The hall can be divided into two independent areas to host different events simultaneously or to scale space to fit event size. It also provides numerous rigging points, allowing the installation of large exhibits, dynamic visual productions that command visitor attention, and immersive environments tailored to specific themes. The venue is ideal for trade fairs, consumer events, concerts, and incentive events; during our visit, a logistics exhibition organized by the venue was underway.

Conference Building: One of Taiwan’s Largest, with a 3,440 m² Grand Hall and Diverse Meeting Rooms

The conference building offers one of Taiwan’s largest meeting capacities and is designed to handle conferences of every size and format—from international congresses to corporate events—with a maximum capacity of 8,800 participants. By using partitions, up to 15 different room layouts can be created to meet varied headcount and format needs.

Key meeting spaces

Grand Hall
Located on the 7th floor, the Grand Hall seats 2,000 in classroom style. Walls and ceilings incorporate acoustic treatments that prevent reflections, ensuring clear sound even at high volume.

5th-Floor Banquet Hall
The 5th-floor Banquet Hall features a professional central kitchen capable of serving up to 200 banquet tables. It is ideal for wedding receptions and brand events and accommodates 1,500 in classroom style or 1,880 for a seated buffet. Large freight elevators are installed, allowing direct delivery of automobiles and other large exhibits to the 5th-floor event space.

Other meeting rooms
The venue also includes one 800-person meeting room; two 250-person rooms; and five 100-person rooms (three on the 3rd floor and two on the 1st floor/GF). The 3rd floor additionally houses VIP rooms and interpretation rooms. Tables and chairs are made in Japan. The building combines abundant natural light with superior sound insulation to provide an optimal conference environment, along with professional audiovisual systems, interpreter booths, preparation rooms, and ergonomically designed seating that meet international standards.

1F Shopping Arcade & Daily Show Plaza

This ground-floor area serves not only for providing meals to conference and exhibition participants and for business meetings, but also offers a diverse commercial mix—Chinese restaurants, other dining options, cafés, and galleries—to meet consumer needs. By seamlessly integrating business events with art and lifestyle, it aims to become the center’s signature service offering under an innovative business model. Looking ahead, Rakuten has indicated an intention to attract Japanese retail brands, and collaboration with the adjacent Rakuten Stadium is anticipated.

Parking, Charging Stations, and Amenity Spaces

The facility includes a bright, clean underground parking garage with 700 indoor spaces, far from the typical image of a basement lot. Numerous electric-vehicle charging stations demonstrate an environmental focus. Designed with an international role in mind, the center also provides a Prayer Room. Next to the front desk, an escalator rises through an atrium up to the 5th floor, with interiors accented in the venue’s peach-inspired theme color. From the 5th floor, visitors can enjoy expansive views of the adjacent Rakuten Stadium.

Overlooking Rakuten Stadium

These abundant facilities and amenities highlight Messe Taoyuan’s strength as a complex MICE venue that integrates functions for exhibition, conferences, art, and commerce. As a strategic base created through cooperation among the central government, local government, and local businesses, the center is expected to continue developing as a hub for international MICE events.

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Diverse Event Track Record at Messe Taoyuan

Messe Taoyuan leverages its multifunctional design to host—and plan—a wide spectrum of events ranging from international conferences to entertainment.

Photo courtesy of Messe Taoyuan — “JCI World Congress 2024”

International Conferences

The hosting of the JCI World Congress 2024, which brought together young leaders from over 100 countries, underscores its status as a hub for international congresses.

Entertainment

A varied slate of large-scale events is scheduled, from K-pop fan meetings (JISOO; Donghae from Super Junior) and concerts by popular Western artists (Cigarettes After Sex) to Japanese anime-song live shows (ANISAMA WORLD).

Industry / Professional Trade Shows

Drawing on the region’s industrial base, the venue actively hosts specialized trade shows such as an aviation industry forum and the Asia Smart Logistics Expo（アジアスマート物流展）. Through events like the International SME Expo（国際中小企業博）organized by its parent company, it also contributes to revitalizing the local economy.

Consumer Events

A rich mix of community-facing events includes a pet-products fair, a gourmet & wine fair, and markets held in conjunction with the Taiwan Lantern Festival.

Brand Events

Thanks to its refined spaces, the venue is also chosen for high-end brand launches such as BMW new-vehicle unveilings.

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Interview: Interplan’s General Manager Catherine Tu

It is an impressively large, outstanding facility. Which competitors do you have in mind? Are you looking at venues within Taipei City—or at Asia as a whole?

Catherine Tu, General Manager: We believe our location itself gives us an advantage, with convenient access from both Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei City. Above all, being just 20 minutes from the airport is our greatest strength. Leveraging this location, we play the role of a multi-purpose complex that can meet a wide range of needs in Taiwan—meetings, events, exhibitions—while contributing to support for local industries.

We were also struck by the many art pieces displayed throughout the building.

Catherine Tu, General Manager: Thank you. Taoyuan City places strong emphasis on the arts, and art is part of everyday life for its citizens. There are museums and galleries nearby, and here at Messe Taoyuan we also strive to create an environment close to daily life where visitors can feel art and culture.

Please tell us about your relationship with Japan: any past Japan-related event track records and your strategy for collaboration with Japanese companies going forward.

Catherine Tu, General Manager: From the early stages of our establishment, our parent company Interplan has had ties with Hakuhodo in Japan, so cooperation with Japan has been there from the outset. As a concrete example, this May we hosted a Japanese anime event that attracted as many as 7,000 attendees. The event had originally been held in Kaohsiung, but, due to its popularity, our venue was chosen this time. Next door is a stadium operated by Japan’s Rakuten, and going forward we are looking to attract Japanese stores to the adjacent shopping center as well.

Finally, do you have a message for our Japanese readers?

Catherine Tu, General Manager: Our strength lies not only in renting out space but also in being able to plan and operate events ourselves. The logistics exhibition being held today is also run in-house by us. We can accommodate a wide variety of exhibitions, and we look forward to actively welcoming Japanese companies and working together across a broad range of activities.

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Messe Taoyuan as a Gateway Connecting Taiwan’s Advanced Industries to the World

Messe Taoyuan is more than a large-scale MICE facility; it is an important hub tasked with a national strategy to drive Taiwan’s industrial development and strengthen international competitiveness. Its establishment was realized through a robust partnership among the central government, local government, and local enterprises, and it is positioned as a national project with investment from the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

The facility upholds a long-term vision looking toward 2030 and beyond. Backed by the Taoyuan Art Corridor urban development concept linked by the Airport MRT, it advances a distinctive operating strategy of “Art Nouveau × MICE.” As a unique integrated MICE complex that fuses four elements—exhibition, conferences, art, and commerce—it aims to maximize the advantages of its airport-adjacent location and vigorously promote the transformation of Taiwan’s MICE industry into an Asia–Pacific hub.

What Japan should note in this ambitious plan is that the Hakuhodo Group is the investor and operator behind this overseas MICE facility. Operations are handled by a Hakuhodo-affiliated company, embodying the people-centered “Seikatsu-sha” philosophy. This is not merely a business expansion but a model for implementing global expertise at the local level, positioned as a strategic, long-term investment project by Hakuhodo.

By mid-2025, the facility has set a target of mobilizing a cumulative total of over 200,000 attendees across roughly 40 large-scale exhibitions and international conferences, further solidifying its role as a gateway connecting Taiwan’s cutting-edge industries—such as semiconductors and AIoT—with the world.

A New Development Model for MICE Facilities

The case of Messe Taoyuan points to a new development model for MICE venues. It pairs the “hardware” of a facility integrated with national strategy with the “software” of planning and brand production provided by Hakuhodo, a global creative company. This suggests an evolution away from merely “providing a place” toward a model in which the venue itself creates content and cultivates markets.

This public–private partnership—especially one that deeply involves an overseas company—could become a benchmark for future MICE-facility development in Asia. The idea is to plan not only the construction of the hardware but also the software strategy deployed upon it as a single, integrated whole. The challenge undertaken by Messe Taoyuan offers important insights for strategically generating the economic impact and the value of cultural exchange that MICE can deliver.

Reporter: Kimura