Some of the most skilled seafaring sailors were ancient Polynesians and some of them came from Taiwan. When it was discovered by the Portuguese in the 17th century, Taiwan was given the name of Ilha Formosa which highlighted how beautiful its coastlines were and how rich and abundant its ocean resources were. During the 20th century, through political turmoil and warfare, Taiwan’s maritime accolades rested on its yacht building sector that reaches the top five ranking places around the world in the 1980’s. However, Taiwan’s martial law and the lack of reforms prohibited leisure marine activities, losing the potential of an industry able to create valuable socioeconomic impact. Fortunately, since 2010, restrictions are gradually removed which gives, thanks to a growing public demand, opportunities in leisure marine activities. The idea of this research is to take advantage of a this “blue ocean” activity here in Taiwan through different touristic tours models that can be done around Taiwan, Okinawa Island and Hong Kong. This thesis matches also one of my passion which is sailing. In June 2017, I had the opportunity with three friends to sail across the Atlantic Ocean for 50 days and this experience gave me some insights about cruising for a long time and the will to share this passion with others. With Formosa Luxury Tours, I see a way to share this passion in a luxury context in a country that is opening itself to leisure boating activities.

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