The pavement outside Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre was already scorching early in the morning, and by the time the Editor walked the short few minutes from the hotel to the venue entrance, the T-shirt was quietly glued to the back — Singapore's warmth needs no words; it welcomes you directly with sticky, 30-something-degree heat. The moment you step through the main doors, you're greeted by a sea of blue: the ADEX 2026 Taiwan Pavilion has taken the stage at Singapore's premier dive expo for the second consecutive year.
For those who aren't familiar with the background: ADEX (Asia Dive Expo) is "The Largest and Longest-running Ocean Exploration and Trade Show Brand in Asia" — in the Asian diving world, it carries the same weight as an annual pilgrimage for divers. It draws not only buyers and industry professionals, but a huge crowd of seasoned enthusiasts who genuinely want to know where they'll be diving next year. Having a seat at this table means something for Taiwan.
This time, the Taiwan Tourism Bureau's Singapore Office didn't just bring information about dive sites across four national scenic areas — they loaded up a whole contingent of dive operators, speakers, and MIT dive brands and brought them to the Lion City, presenting "Taiwan dive travel" more completely than last year, and in a way that made your fingers itch to book a flight.
Even better, the centrepiece of this year's Taiwan Pavilion wasn't simply "come dive in Taiwan." It wasn't until the Editor sat through all three speakers' presentations that it truly clicked — what the Office wanted Singaporean friends to see was a Taiwan that knows how to tell a story about sustainable diving.
Two Years Running at Singapore's Dive Expo — Why Does the Taiwan Pavilion Keep Growing in Presence?
When the pavilion made its debut last year, Taiwan was still in "getting-our-name-out-there" mode. Many Singaporean divers' impressions of Taiwan stopped at night markets, xiaolongbao, and Alishan — a mention of "you can dive in Taiwan, you know" would typically be met with that classic "wait, really?" look. But this year, the Editor could clearly sense a shift in the wind.
The Tourism Bureau's Singapore Office came out swinging: four national scenic areas all represented at once — the Northeast Coast waters of the Northeast Coast and Yilan Coast National Scenic Area, the Kenting and Xiaoliuqiu waters of the Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area, Taitung and Green Island under the East Coast National Scenic Area, and the Penghu waters of the Penghu National Scenic Area. Four routes stretching from the top of Taiwan all the way to the outer islands, laid out in Singapore for you to choose from.
More importantly, this year each marine area invited a local dive shop to come along, so Singaporean visitors stopping by the booth weren't just flipping through brochures or watching videos — they were chatting face-to-face with instructors who actually lead dives there. The Editor spent the day standing nearby and eavesdropping: questions at the booth ranged from "What month is best to go?" and "How do I get there?" to "How much does it cost?" and "How many dives can I fit in a day?" all the way to "What else can I do after diving?" and "Is it suitable for kids?" Singaporean divers had done their homework better than expected, and they weren't pulling any punches.
Four Scenic Areas × Four Local Dive Shops — Every Question Answered in One Go
The strongest part of this year's Taiwan Pavilion lineup was these four operators, one representing each marine area, taking turns fielding questions all day at the booth. The Editor felt thirsty just watching them.
Northeast Coast Diving: DiveMate Brings the Convenience of "Diveable in One Hour from Taipei" to the World
The first stop was Northeast Coast diving, represented by DiveMate. When many Singaporean friends heard "you can take a one-hour train from central Taipei and be at the dive site," eyes lit up immediately. The Northeast Coast — Longdong, Bitou Cape — is "dive a tank after work" distance for Taiwanese divers, but for Singaporeans accustomed to flights of six hours or more, the value proposition of "land and dive" is simply explosive. What DiveMate pitched this time was a half-day itinerary tailor-made for urban divers: jump in the water in the morning to spot broadclub cuttlefish, pygmy seahorses, and all manner of endearing small creatures; surface at noon for a bowl of seafood noodles; and still have time to zip back to Taipei for an afternoon of shopping.
The Editor overheard a Singaporean guy asking very seriously: "So I can fly over, do a dive, and be back in Taipei for a Michelin-starred dinner the same day?" DiveMate nodded straight away: "Absolutely — and plenty of people do exactly that." The guy reached for his phone on the spot to add them on LINE.
Kenting & Xiaoliuqiu Diving: Taiwan Dive Packages Up Southern Taiwan in One Go
The second stop headed south, with Kenting and Xiaoliuqiu diving represented by Taiwan Dive — a veteran dive shop from southern Taiwan. They brought both routes to Singapore: Kenting headlining coral ecosystems across a lineup of classic sites like Houbihu, the outlet, and Wanlitong; and Xiaoliuqiu delivering the most sociable sea turtles in the world — the kind of staggering density where you can spot Green Sea Turtles standing on the shore at high tide.
The top question from many Singaporean divers was: "Will we see sea turtles? One, or ten?" Taiwan Dive's answer was utterly unflinching: "Come to Xiaoliuqiu — ten is on the low side." The Editor can personally vouch that this is not a sales pitch; it is a fact.
Green Island Diving: Hide N Sea Delivers the Surprise of "Feels Far, Actually Close"
The third stop jumped to Green Island diving, represented by Hide N Sea. Green Island is already hallowed ground for Taiwanese divers, but for Singaporean friends it was still largely unknown. Hide N Sea played it smart this time, laying out Green Island's trump cards: the dramatic artificial reef at Steel Rock, the sweeping topography of the fissure passage, batfish photobombing you as a matter of course, and the tiny creatures that only reveal themselves on a night dive.
The Editor particularly loved one line on Hide N Sea's booth display: "Thirty minutes by boat from Taitung, but you'll feel like you've arrived in another country." That line lands squarely on what Singaporean divers are looking for — an escape from the everyday. Green Island's visibility is world-class, routinely exceeding 40 m of crystal-clear water, drawing divers from around the globe who make the trip specifically for it.
Penghu Diving Recommendations: Ocean Channel Turns an Under-the-Radar Outer Island into a Must-Visit
The fourth stop passed the baton to Penghu, represented by Ocean Channel — whose owner NT is also the speaker introduced in the next section. Penghu in Taiwan's domestic diving scene is an "in-the-know" route: those who know, know; those who don't will make a lap of everywhere else before discovering just how spectacular Penghu actually is.
This time Ocean Channel played a mixed hand: beach + stone fish traps (石滬) + underwater mailbox + coral restoration zone. Penghu's waters feature something rare in Taiwan — coral clusters growing out of open sandy seabed — with visibility, light, and topography that are entirely their own. One of the Editor's top reasons to recommend Penghu to beginners is that Penghu diving is a dream for photographers: the composition space is clean and uncluttered. When NT sat at the booth and Singaporean friends asked about Penghu's character, he would patiently share the island's distinctive sandy-bed coral clusters, the stone fish trap culture, and the unhurried pace of diving there, helping everyone find the itinerary that suits them best.
Three Speakers × Three Sustainable Diving Sessions: Not Just Selling Dive Sites — Teaching Civic Education
If the four dive shops were the firepower of the Taiwan Pavilion, then the three speakers from Taiwan were its soul. The Office arranged three dedicated talks this time, and without any coordination, all three converged on the same theme: sustainable diving. The Editor had expected something along the lines of a standard "protect the ocean, reduce your rubbish" public-service announcement — and ended up completely floored. Three speakers, three entirely different angles, three stories that made it impossible to stay still in your seat.
Peggy: The Matrilineal Migration of Xiaoliuqiu's Sea Turtles — Named, Fated, and Full of Personality
The first speaker was Peggy — a dive instructor and a core volunteer with 海龜點點名 (Sea Turtle Roll Call), Taiwan's most important citizen-science platform for sea turtle identification. The Editor, standing in the audience, knew from her opening line that this was not going to be a tourism commercial. Peggy threw up an aerial photograph right away: "Do you see those black dots along the shoreline? Every single one is a sea turtle — and almost all of them are Green Sea Turtles."
Her key point wasn't "there are a lot of sea turtles in Xiaoliuqiu" — it was how hard female sea turtles have it:
- The mating process for female turtles is close to coerced: males use the hook on their front flippers to grip the female's shell, forcing her to expend twice the energy just to surface for air, and in extreme cases multiple males can press down on a female until she drowns.
- Female turtles must return to their own birthplace to nest, no matter how far they've roamed — even if they've "emigrated" to Taiwan, 3,000 km away, they still make the journey back. The turtle R36192 that Peggy photographed in Xiaoliuqiu had come all the way from Micronesia; after living in Taiwan for over a decade, she still disappears for half a year every two to three years to go home and nest.
- Coming ashore to nest means running a gauntlet of a "sea turtle Olympic hexathlon": find a spot, dig a large pit, excavate the egg chamber, lay the eggs, bury and camouflage them, and return to the sea. A female named "Liangliang" came ashore repeatedly over two weeks, trying each time — every attempt failed.
- She also shared a photograph that silenced the room: a nest of painstakingly laid eggs, flooded by a typhoon-driven surge for more than four hours — the entire clutch died in the sand at the same moment.
The moment that stayed with the Editor most was Peggy's answer when asked "why not just pick up the struggling hatchlings and carry them to the sea":
"Because sea turtles are designed to remember their birthplace. We cannot rob them of that memory — it's the reference point they'll use to come back and give birth to the next generation."
That line gave the Editor goosebumps. Sustainable diving — those words were made entirely concrete by Peggy. They mean: every time you choose not to touch a sea turtle, every time you carry your rubbish out, every time you choose ocean-safe sunscreen, you are helping one female turtle complete a nesting journey she may have waited twenty years for.
The fine for touching a sea turtle in Taiwan is NT$60,000–300,000 (approximately S$2,500–10,000). Peggy tossed that number out, and the audience laughed with a touch of awkwardness. She followed up: "That said, if the turtle actively approaches you, that's a different story."
NT: A Penghu Coral Restoration Trilogy — From Concrete Blocks to 3D-Printed Oyster Shells
The second speaker was NT, owner of Ocean Channel dive shop in Penghu — the same person who spent the day sitting in the four-region booth. When he switched to speaker mode in the afternoon, NT transformed entirely from "operator" to "science evangelist."
He opened with a disarmingly plain analogy: "What colour is your chair? White. Coral is naturally white — it has colour because of its symbiotic algae." That single sentence clarified the "bleaching ≠ death" confusion that many divers carry their whole lives. He then laid out the three coral restoration methods Penghu has been practising in recent years:
- Concrete triangular blocks: manufactured on land, dropped by boat to the seabed, then arranged by divers below. NT emphasised one critical detail: freshly submerged concrete releases toxins, and you must wait until algae have grown on the block — proof that the toxins have cleared — before transplanting coral, otherwise the coral will die and not even fish will approach.
- Steel-reinforced concrete sculptures: to create three-dimensional space, they welded rebar frames and poured 170 cm-tall sculptures, then attached coral fragments using cable ties pulled tight to provide a stable anchoring surface. Successfully growing coral eventually encases the cable ties entirely.
- 3D-printed eco-materials (the latest breakthrough): the tens of thousands of tonnes of oyster shells left over from Penghu's oyster roasting, along with broken dead coral branches, are ground up and 3D-printed into new ecological bricks. The material is entirely natural — fish begin inhabiting them on day one in the water, with no toxin-off-gassing period to wait out.
What earned the Editor's deepest respect about NT was one thing: the coral he planted with his first-generation concrete blocks successfully spawned — releasing eggs and sperm — seven years later.
"Propagation by fragmentation (asexual reproduction) is like breaking off my hand and growing a second NT — but if conditions change, every NT dies. Spawning is genetic mixing; only then does coral have a chance to produce offspring with new heat-tolerance or cold-tolerance traits."
That is a dive shop owner explaining evolutionary genetics to you. The Editor is absolutely not joking.
NT also took the opportunity to clarify a food chain problem nobody tends to think about: Penghu once had an expert algae-eater called the sea urchin, responsible for clearing away algae that compete with coral — but sea urchins were eaten to near-extinction by humans, adding yet another layer of survival pressure on coral. Last year (2025) Penghu also suffered an outbreak of crown-of-thorns sea stars, caused by the near-disappearance of their natural predator, the triton's trumpet (大法螺), which was hunted out because it is both delicious and beautiful. The good news: monitoring detected a 45 cm triton's trumpet that had returned on its own — "because crown-of-thorns numbers had surged, it followed the scent back to this dive site."
That line made the whole room laugh — and then go quiet almost immediately. An ecosystem is a chain of interdependencies; remove one player and everything falls out of alignment.
Yorko Summer: Humans Need the Ocean, but the Ocean Doesn't Necessarily Need Humans
The third speaker was Yorko Summer — internationally renowned underwater photographer, ADEX Photography Ambassador, and a heavyweight voice with over 10,000 logged dives. The day before, he had taken Singaporean friends on a breezy tour of Taiwan's six major dive regions; this second session opened with a heads-up: "What I'm going to talk about today might make you a little uncomfortable — but it has real educational value."
Yorko's narrative arc was the heaviest and most painful thread in the entire sustainable diving theme. He moved from Whale Sharks to great white sharks, from the songs of humpback whales to the Morse code of sperm whales, from Clownfish being more dangerous than sharks ("I've never been bitten by a shark, but Nemo bites me all the time") — and then into the harder material:
- Parasites on fish are noticeably increasing: photographing around the world in recent years, he has captured abnormally large parasites even in the excellent visibility of Okinawa, possibly caused by water pollution, ocean eutrophication, and the disruption of food chains through overfishing.
- Sea anemones can recover from bleaching; hard coral cannot: growing less than one centimetre per year, decades-old coral dies when water temperatures spike — and growing back takes decades more.
- A coral graveyard off the Seychelles in Africa: he played a clip of an area roughly the size of three football pitches, entirely bleached and discoloured. "I kept telling myself I'd come back next time. When I did, it was already a graveyard for coral — not only no coral left, but fish wouldn't come back either."
- Plastic itself is blameless: on a remote beach he photographed a plastic doll's hand sticking out of the sand. "I was genuinely frightened when I saw it — I thought, if this keeps up, that could be my hand someday."
Yorko ended with what became the most resonant line of the entire Taiwan Pavilion at ADEX 2026:
"Humans need the ocean, but the ocean doesn't necessarily need humans."
He didn't climb onto a moral high ground, and he didn't trade in sentimentality — he simply spread before you what 10,000 dives look like through a lens, and let you draw your own conclusions. His call to action was equally simple: choose ocean-friendly sunscreen, cut down on single-use plastics, pick up rubbish while you dive. "Love yourself first, and then you can love the ocean — it's not about skipping sunscreen; it's about choosing the right one."
The Editor turned around to look at the Singaporean audience after the full session: someone was wiping their eyes, someone else had their head down taking notes, and a father was sitting with his young child, both nodding together. This was not a sales pitch. This was a civic education class — one that Taiwan delivered on behalf of the ocean, overseas.
Three MIT Dive Brands: ATMOS, 123 Underwater Lab, and DIVEVERYDAY Put Taiwan-Made in the Spotlight
Beyond the dive sites and the speakers, the Office also brought three MIT brands — ATMOS, 123 Underwater Lab, and DIVEVERYDAY — to represent at the Singapore dive expo. After a lap around the booth area, the Editor found Singaporean divers turning ATMOS dive computers over in their hands and poring over the interface; 123 Underwater Lab, billing itself as a dive apparel brand defined by design sensibility and eco-friendly materials, had visitors crowding around the booth the moment the cuts and fabrics were on display, with many people trying pieces on and snapping photos in the mirror; and DIVEVERYDAY was even more remarkable — their product line received such an enthusiastic reception from Singaporean friends that everything sold out by the second day of the expo, leaving the operator grinning ear-to-ear and declaring on the spot: "We are absolutely coming back to Singapore next year to contribute to Taiwan's GDP."
What all three brands share is Taiwanese design + Taiwanese manufacturing — quality and aesthetics that match international players, at a more competitive price point. Many Singaporean friends came to the booth and discovered for the first time that Taiwan, beyond its excellent dive sites, also has a fully developed equipment, apparel, and gear supply chain keeping pace with it.
Over 1,000 Surveys Collected: The Real Picture of Singapore's Interest in Taiwan Dive Travel
By the close of the three-day expo, the Taiwan Pavilion had collected over 1,000 survey responses — a striking number for an overseas trade show, representing an average of more than 300 Singaporean divers per day who stopped, took the time, and filled in their details.
Those 1,000 surveys will become an important reference for the Tourism Bureau's Singapore Office as it plans future "Singapore-to-Taiwan dive travel" initiatives — covering the most popular destinations, the seasons that matter most, preferred trip lengths, and budget ranges, all as genuine first-hand data. The Editor managed to sneak a peek at the trending statistics on-site: Southern Taiwan (Kenting, Xiaoliuqiu) and Green Island were the two areas drawing the most enquiries. That said, "you can actually dive in Taiwan" remains relatively unknown to Singaporean divers; compared to established favourites like Bali and the Philippines, Taiwan's profile in the local market is still noticeably lower. Flip that around, and it means the growth potential for Taiwan diving in the Singapore market is enormous.
Closing Thoughts: Taiwan Dive Travel's Real Strength Is "Sustainable × Diverse" — All in One Place
After three days at the ADEX 2026 Taiwan Pavilion, what the Editor most wants to say isn't about survey numbers or which dive site drew the most interest — it's this: the path Taiwan is taking to promote dive travel happens to pair perfectly with "sustainability."
Why? Because Taiwan has three advantages that very few countries can put on the table simultaneously.
One: Mountain and sea in a single day — with a night market meal thrown in
This is Taiwan's most underestimated superpower. In many popular dive destinations, diving is diving — once you surface, you return to the resort or the liveaboard, and entertainment options are genuinely limited. In Taiwan, you can dive Longdong on the Northeast Coast in the morning, head into the mountains for a bowl of oolong tea at noon, make a dash to Jiufen for taro balls at dusk, and be back in Taipei browsing Raohe Night Market by evening — mountains, ocean, and city, all in one day. For Singaporeans who regularly fly long-haul to dive destinations, this kind of "don't make me choose, I want all of it" itinerary density is almost impossible to replicate anywhere else.
Two: This is precisely what sets Taiwan apart from other countries in the dive travel arena
After three days at the booth, the question the Editor heard most from Singaporean visitors wasn't "how's the visibility?" — it was "so what can I do after the dive?" That's a question hard to answer in most dive-destination countries, but in Taiwan it's a complete gimme. Diving + food + mountain scenery + city + culture — that combination punch is Taiwan's genuine differentiator. By tying "sustainable diving" to this kind of multi-layered experience, the Office was essentially telling the world: Taiwan isn't just a dive site — it's a complete island travel package where you can have a great time without harming the ocean.
Three: A complete dive industry chain — end-to-end service, all connected
From government resources at the scenic area level, to local dive shops (DiveMate, Taiwan Dive, Hide N Sea, Ocean Channel), to MIT gear brands (ATMOS, 123 Underwater Lab, DIVEVERYDAY), to citizen science on the conservation side (Sea Turtle Roll Call, Penghu coral restoration) — Taiwan's dive industry actually has every piece of the puzzle in place, and every piece is strong. What comes next is genuinely connecting those pieces, so that international visitors can experience Taiwan — from underwater to above the surface — in the most seamless way possible.
Assembling four dive shops, three brands, and three speakers under one roof at the ADEX 2026 Taiwan Pavilion was, in itself, a demonstration of what that connection looks like. The Editor hopes this kind of collaboration can extend beyond trade shows and back to Taiwan itself — so that international friends who want to dive in Taiwan don't just glimpse isolated highlights, but experience a complete, coherent journey infused with a genuine sustainable spirit.
And that is exactly why, when the Singapore Office packed four national scenic areas, four operators, three speakers, and three MIT brands into the ADEX 2026 Taiwan Pavilion all at once, the Editor felt this was a genuinely pivotal demonstration:
The next step for Taiwan's dive travel push isn't just selling dive sites — it's selling an entire island lifestyle where sustainability and discovery go hand in hand.
Walking out of the convention centre, the Editor glanced back one last time at the Taiwan Pavilion's blue main visual. Three days of non-stop crowds, Singaporean friends beginning to discover Taiwan's seas — and Taiwan itself growing ever more fluent in telling the story of its diving, in its own voice, to the world.
Northeast Coast diving, Kenting and Xiaoliuqiu diving, Green Island diving, Penghu diving recommendations — four routes, take your pick, with a complete industry chain stretching behind each one. If the ADEX 2026 Taiwan Pavilion has fired something up in you, leave a comment and tell the Editor which destination calls to you first — was it Liangliang's story, the 3D-printed oyster shells, or Yorko's photo of the plastic doll's hand that hit home? See you at the water's edge next time.
Further Links: Partners of This Year's Taiwan Pavilion
Want to learn more about the operators, brands, and speakers from the ADEX 2026 Taiwan Pavilion? The Editor has compiled the relevant links below — feel free to follow along:
Four Local Dive Shops
- DiveMate (Northeast Coast): @divemateclub
- Taiwan Dive (Kenting · Xiaoliuqiu): taiwan-dive.com
- Hide N Sea (Green Island): @hide.n.sea
- Ocean Channel (Penghu): oceanchannel.com.tw
Three MIT Dive Brands
- ATMOS (dive computers): atmos.app
- 123 Underwater Lab (eco-material dive apparel): 123underwaterlab.com
- DIVEVERYDAY (dive craftsmanship): diveveryday.com
Three Speakers
- Yorko Summer (internationally renowned underwater photographer): @yorkosummer
- NT (Penghu coral restoration · Ocean Channel Diving): oceanchannel.com.tw
- Peggy (Sea Turtle Roll Call core volunteer): @wonderpeggy
Organiser
- Taiwan Tourism SG (Taiwan Tourism Bureau Singapore Office): @taiwan_tourism_sg
