Vouchers work: Taiwan’s culture points convert 80% into book or merch sales, according to 2025 ministry data – consider partnering with national agencies for teen-targeted fairs.

The 2026 Taipei International Comics & Animation Festival (TICA) opened yesterday with 30,000 fans already queuing and pre-sales up 15%.

Organisers expect 500,000 visitors to spend NT$250 million ($8 million) across 800 booths – outstripping last year’s NT$200 million. One hundred vendors, including 40 accepting the government’s NT$1,200 “culture points” voucher for 13- to 22-year-olds, give publishers an instant laboratory for price-elasticity and Gen-Z taste.

Safety first, cosplay second

New Taipei Metro rules ban gas masks, hyper-realistic weapons or costumes evoking terrorism. Cosplayers accept the curb, freeing security to focus on crowd flow. Trade takeaway: clearer content guidelines reduce risk and reassure licensors; build them into exhibition contracts now.

Local IP takes centre stage

A dedicated “Original IP Top Rankings” zone spotlights Taiwanese novels and comics, backed by Taipei City Hall’s ambition to turn the capital into a “content hub”.

With domestic print manga sales flat (-2 % YoY, Ministry of Culture), the booth is a low-cost rights market for regional streaming platforms and book imprints scouting the next Squid Game-scale breakout.

Lessons for London, Frankfurt and co.

Vouchers work: Taiwan’s culture points convert 80% into book or merch sales, according to 2025 ministry data – consider partnering with national agencies for teen-targeted fairs.

Hybrid revenue: TICA’s mix of presale tickets, on-site exclusives and live-streamed panels nets organisers a 35 % margin, double the average comic-con (Eventbrite benchmark).

Safety as USP: post-COVID, insurers raise premiums 12 % for pop-culture events; pre-published prop guidelines cut quotes by a third (Lloyd’s 2025 report).

The View From the Beach

Mayor Chiang Wan-an has scheduled three more anime-themed weekends before summer. If TICA hits its half-million target, expect a tender for an overseas rights pavilion at the 2027 fair – an open door for UK and US publishers hunting Mandarin-language properties and anime adaptations.

This post first appeared in the TNPS LinkedIn newsfeed.