This travel agent once thought travel was boring: Travel Weekly Asia

Vincent Wang’s first taste of the travel industry wasn’t exactly glamorous. As a child, he’d find himself stationed in hotel lobbies for hours whilst his parents disappeared into business meetings.

“I thought travel was so boring,” recalls the now 29-year-old special assistant to the general manager at Taiwan-based Mirage Travel. “Just sitting in the hotel lobby doing nothing for five days.”

Today, that same hotel lobby kid has become the digital driving force transforming his family’s travel agency.

Marrying passion and satisfaction

Mirage Travel’s story began in 1992 when Vincent’s parents, both former travel industry employees, founded the company immediately after their marriage.

“My parents always mention that once they see the client’s satisfaction, they feel really happy,” Vincent explains. “That’s the key point why they wanted to establish their own travel agency.”

After 33 years in business, the agency has built a reputation serving some of Taiwan’s top enterprises.

When crisis breeds innovation

What sets Mirage Travel apart is their unique business evolution. Around 2003, the SARS outbreak forced a strategic pivot that would define their future success.

“Before SARS, we were wholesalers selling Canada and US travel packages to corporate accounts,” Vincent explains. “Because of SARS, my parents decided to transform the business model to incentive travel so they could control everything, rather than face restrictions caused by pandemics and disasters happening in different areas.”

Mirage Travel specialises in incentive travel, creating large-scale, customised corporate trips that blend unique experiences, team building, and memorable events across Asia and beyond. Photo Credit: Mirage Travel

This reverse trajectory – starting with corporate wholesale before moving to direct customers – differs from most agencies and has become a key differentiator. Today, their business splits roughly 50% incentive travel, 20-30% leisure travel, with the remainder covering FIT and cruise sales.

The tech revolution

When Vincent joined three years ago after working at a cloud gaming IT company, he brought fresh technological perspectives to the family business. His systematic introduction of CRM systems and social media strategies has modernised operations whilst maintaining personal service standards.

Vincent Wang leverages his IT background to introduce CRM systems, digital marketing, and partnerships, modernising Mirage Travel while preserving personalised client service. Photo Credit: Mirage Travel/Vincent Wang

“I can combine my IT connections with travel to create a new model,” he explains. The transformation wasn’t immediate – it required patience and strategic timing to demonstrate technology’s value alongside traditional relationship-building.

One breakthrough partnership involves collaborating with one of Taiwan’s largest supermarket chains through their payment app, reaching six million users.

“We do monthly or weekly travel packages, connecting with them to sell to their customers,” Vincent says, describing how shoppers can convert rewards into travel experiences.

Creative excellence in action

Vincent’s approach emphasises unique experiences over standard packages. A recent milestone involved organising a 1,500-person corporate trip combining Hong Kong Disneyland with a cruise return to Taiwan.

“We had everyone arrive the same day for breakfast at Disney with Mickey and Minnie,” he recalls. “We also did wine dining at the horse racing venue – very creative things we’d never done before.”

Such innovations reflect his philosophy: “Incentive travel should combine unique experiences with team building – things people have never tried before. We’re trying to create memories, not just travel experiences.”

Proving the doubters wrong

The digital transformation has yielded concrete results. Last year, Mirage Travel achieved a 5% increase in new customers, partially attributed to their digital transformation efforts.

This year presents Vincent’s biggest challenge: managing an 1,800-person corporate trip to Japan, with 70% of the operations resting on his shoulders. It’s a tall order, even compared to his first day in the business, when his mother gave him just 24 hours to prepare a presentation for hotel industry leaders.

No longer bored of travel, Vincent Wang now takes pride in crafting unforgettable, creative experiences that inspire lasting memories for clients. Photo Credit: Mirage Travel/Vincent Wang

Despite steep obstacles, and what many might call a ‘mission impossible’, Vincent has consistently cleared each one with determination. His greatest reward? The joy of crafting lasting memories for clients, whose appreciation fuels his drive to strive to greater heights.

From a child indifferent to travel to a digital trailblazer, Vincent Wang and his family embodies the successful marriage of traditional travel expertise with modern innovation.

Editor’s note: This article is part of Travel Weekly Asia’s July–September 2025 cover story, Next Gen, New Game. Click here to read the full issue.