Culture Points help Taipei comics fair record new high for revenues

Taipei, Feb. 5 (CNA) Record high revenues were generated by the 12th Taipei International Comics and Animation Festival as the event concluded on Monday, with many attributing the boost to a policy aimed at stimulating culture-oriented spending by youth and young adults.

The fair garnered NT$250 million (US$7.96 million) during its five-day run, setting a new record for the annual event, according to statistics compiled by the Chinese Animation & Comic Publishers Association, the event's organizer.

The result surprised many exhibitors at the show, said Kao Shih-chuang (高世樁), secretary-general of the association, who did not provide the previous high in fair sales.

The festival is usually held during the winter vacation after the Lunar New Year holiday, and benefits from young customers spending the money they received as gifts in red envelopes during the holiday.

This year, however, the Lunar New Year holiday does not start until Feb. 8, meaning there was no "red envelope" money to stimulate spending.

That is why, in addition to a 35 percent increase in exhibitors to 800 this year, show revenues also benefited from the Ministry of Culture policy aimed at encouraging spending in the cultural sector, Kao said.

Starting from Jan. 20, around 1.5 million residents in Taiwan aged 16 to 22 were eligible to claim NT$1,200 in digital vouchers, known as Culture Points, to spend on cultural activities or at related venues.

The points, each equivalent to NT$1, can be used at designated independent bookstores, record stores, music stores, live music events and venues, cultural parks, bazaars, and screenings of Taiwanese films, the ministry said in December 2023.

Although not all products at the event could be purchased using Culture Points, Kao said the organizer had encouraged exhibitors to accept Culture Points, which helped spur sales.

A similar opinion was shared by Chang Yin-tzu (張尹慈), a staffer at anime and manga distributor Muse, whose major customers are in the age group eligible for Culture Points.

Culture Points, Chang said, served as the equivalent of the red envelopes those customers usually get over the Lunar New Year holiday.

Chang said her company promoted the use of Culture Points on the internet and set up scanning facilities to facilitate their use, leading to the early sellout of popular works like "Frieren: Beyond Journey's End" and "Attack on Titan" on the second day of the fair.

Publisher Kadokawa Taiwan agreed, with a spokesperson saying the company had anticipated a slower market this year at the fair because the event was held before the Lunar New Year holiday.

But with Culture Points being actively used, the company's revenues at the show were up 15 percent compared to last year, the Kadokawa Taiwan spokesperson said, with its customers, mostly high school students, spending about NT$2,500 per person at its stand.