TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — More than 120,000 people showed up at the Kaohsiung Fried Chicken Festival over the weekend, and the crowds helped push sales at nearby malls and shops up by about 50% compared with the same period last year.
Liberty Times reported Monday that the two-day event at FEDS Kaohsiung Store pulled in locals and visitors from South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, and Japan. The city’s tourism bureau said the festival has grown into one of Taiwan’s most anticipated food events.
The bureau said the mall saw sales jump 40-50% from a year earlier, and foot traffic shot up by over 80%. Nearby business districts also saw their customer numbers and revenue climb by about 50%, and store owners said the crowds gave them a strong boost.
CNA reported that many vendors said they stocked up 10 times more ingredients than usual but still ran out as people kept pouring in. Several stalls sold out early on both days.
Kaohsiung has been trying to draw visitors by building up signature food events. The tourism bureau said the fried chicken festival now attracts tourists from Europe and the US, and it praised the strong turnout for lifting MRT ridership and neighborhood sales.
The bureau said overseas content creators also helped spread the word by filming the event and talking about local food culture. It added that vendors from across Taiwan reported record sales and said they plan to open more shops in Kaohsiung after seeing the crowds this year.
