# China Vows to Ease Curbs on Taiwan Tourism



## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*China vows to ease curbs on tourists visiting Taiwan *










BEIJING, Feb 24 (Reuters) - China pledged on Friday to ease curbs on tourists visiting Taiwan as part of efforts to win over the people of the self-ruled island it claims as its own. 

China has issued volleys of rhetoric against Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian this week over his plan to scrap a council advising on eventual unification with the mainland and said it was ready to deal with "any possible complicated situation". 

The two sides split in 1949 when the Nationalists lost the Chinese civil war to the Communists and and fled to Taiwan, which China has vowed to attack if it formally declares statehood. 

But Chinese officials on Friday stopped short of saying the abolition of the 15-year-old National Unification Council and unification guidelines would mean war and instead repeated their previous offers of economic sweeteners. 

Dai Xiaofeng, a senior official at China's policy-making Taiwan Affairs Office, said China would soon announce a set of specific regulations on managing trips by Chinese residents to the island, a ban on which was removed last May. 

"We hope Taiwan authorities can bow to public opinion and take a practical and positive attitude on the issue of opening up to mainland tourists," Dai told a news conference. 

China has taken a stick-and-carrot approach since 2005, when it hosted heads of Taiwan's three pro-unification opposition parties and offered the sweeteners that also include scrapping tariffs on Taiwan fruits imports and the gift of a pair of pandas. 

But it also refused to deal with Chen's government of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party and passed an Anti-Secession Law last March mandating the use of "non-peaceful means" if Taiwan slips towards formal independence. 

Li Weiyi, a spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office, dodged questions on whether Chen's latest move, which many speculate could happen as early as next Tuesday, would evoke any "non-peaceful means" from China. 

"Let's just see what his next step and his intention are," Li said. 

Taiwan has cautiously welcomed the tourism offer, saying it could accommodate 1,000 Chinese tourists a day and might allow them to stay for up to 10 days, which analysts say would boost hotel sales at best by 15 percent. 

But no formal negotiations have taken place, despite the visit to the island by China's tourism minister Shao Qiwei last October. 

China has restricted visits by citizens to Taiwan since 1949, while Taiwan has its own tough rules limiting mainland visitors and bans direct air links on grounds of national security. 

A small number of mainlanders are now able to travel to Taiwan, mostly on business, but the figure is marginal compared to the 4.1 million trips to the mainland last year by Taiwan people, who have invested billions of dollars in China.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Mainland tourism administrations to actively promote visits to Taiwan *
27 February 2006
Xinhua's China Economic Information Service

BEIJING, February 27 (CEIS) -- The tourism administrations on the Chinese mainland will continue to promote cross-Straits tourism in a bid to enable the mainland residents to visit Taiwan as soon as possible. 

Liu Kezhi, a senior official with the National Tourism Administration, made the remarks at a regular press conference held by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council on Feb. 24. 

"The mainland is ready to send tourists to Taiwan," Liu said. 

"We expect the Taiwan side to make arrangements as soon as possible so both sides can work together to open a new chapter for cross-Straits exchange and cooperation in the field of tourism," Liu added. 

The mainland will again invite representatives from the Taiwan tourism industry to join the second Cross-Straits Tourism Expo, which is to be held in Xiamen next September, and the eighth China International Travel Mart in Shanghai, planned for November 2006. 

Tourism administrations on the mainland will also encourage local tourism sectors to promote their tourism schemes at the cross-Straits tourism expo in Taipei in November 2006, according to Liu. 

The Chinese central government permitted mainland residents to tour Taiwan last May for the first time since 1949, when the mainland and the island province were separated by a civil war. A mainland tourism inspection delegation visited Taiwan for nine days late last year. 

Shao Qiwei, head of the China Tourism Association and also head of the delegation, said before leaving the island that the tourism administrations and all relevant parties on the mainland welcome non- government tourism organizations from Taiwan's tourism industry to start consultations with their mainland counterparts as soon as possible. 

"We hope to see a wholesome and orderly development of cross- Straits tourism exchanges in the near future so as to achieve a mutually beneficial result for both sides," Liu said.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Surprises await Chinese at fabled Taiwan scenic spot *

SUN MOON LAKE, Taiwan, Feb 29 (Reuters) - When tourists from China drop by Chen Mei-hui's shop at one of the foremost natural scenic spots in Taiwan, they are miffed to find set prices on tea and packaged snacks. 

Chinese customarily haggle on everything from peanuts to diamonds, while Taiwan shoppers seldom bargain on smaller items. 

"When Chinese people come and want me to cut the prices, I tell them 'This isn't China, this is Taiwan,'" Chen said, complaining that she can't afford discounts. 

The few Chinese tourists who make it to Sun Moon Lake face set rates among other surprises at the fabled landmark that most Chinese children read about in school but seldom see because they are usually barred from visiting. 

China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own, occasionally threatening force to make it unite, and in turn is viewed by leaders in Taipei as a security threat. Tourists can come now on professional exchanges or via permits arranged outside China. 

But more Chinese tourists, up to 1,000 per day, could be on the way with prospects of a broader China-Taiwan travel agreement looking up after a new Taiwan president is elected on March 22. 

Sun Moon Lake offers views of a clear, sometimes mist-shrouded reservoir rimmed by multiple layers of mountains, a scene that has been compared to a Chinese landscape painting. 

"Why do we come here? It's in the primary school literature textbooks, in the number two edition," recalled Shanghai visitor Jackie Chen as he hustled onto his tour boat. "And it's not bad." 

Chen's group of seven and most others on tightly guided tours often find themselves so rushed that they can't stop at will or linger to catch the scenery. Some travel agencies restrict stops to approved vendors who have special deals with the agents. 

"When Chinese visitors hear about Sun Moon Lake and can't go they figure it's got to be special," said Hu Shan-wen, owner of the Spa Home hotel. "Here they move too fast. There are Chinese visitors who will look out and say 'Sun Moon Lake is so small?'" 

Most cannot afford to spend the night at lakeside lodging that starts at about $80 for cramped single-bed rooms, forcing them into cheaper hotels elsewhere in Taiwan. 

"Right now we don't have enough hotels for the Chinese tourists, and they don't want to pay high prices," said Tseng Kuo-chi, director of Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area. 

Some mainland visitors are pleasantly surprised to find that one of the chief lakeshore attractions is a faux aboriginal village, a tribute to the native Thao group, as ethnic minority theme parks are also a hit in parts of China. 

Members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which is banned in China, sit in wait at a nearby temple to hand brochures out to the unsuspecting Chinese tourists. 

Merchants want to see more Chinese tourists, who they say are often more willing than local travellers to spend money. 

"They haggle on price, but they do buy," said Wang Yi-fen, manager of a souvenir shop in the shoreline's larger village.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Tourism brightens, darkens Taiwan's Sun Moon Lake *

SUN MOON LAKE, Taiwan, March 7 (Reuters) - Sun Moon Lake has been compared to a classical Chinese landscape painting with its crystal waters reflecting surrounding snow-capped mountains.

But a hotel building boom around the mountain resort in central Taiwan has locals and environmentalists worried the unspoilt beauty of the lake, which draws 3 million tourists a year, might be ruined.

"Sun Moon Lake is a very important international site, and such an important resource should be protected," said Liu Ming-lone, spokesman for the Environmental Quality Protection Foundation, a Taipei-based non-governmental organisation.

Seven hotels are being planned and built on the lake shores, with some of them charging as much as $500 per night.

One 200-room hotel just opened, while two more hotels are under construction. Another four hotels are being planned, including a high-end 100-room hotel resort and a 400-room two-star hotel geared toward budget tourists from mainland China.

Prospects for a tourism deal with China, which does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, have spurred development as the region prepares to host millions of well-heeled Chinese visitors should tourism agreements be reached between Beijing and Taipei.

The lake is well-known in China where descriptions in literature and text books give the impression that its beauty is unmatched on the mainland. Legal barriers to Chinese citizens entering Taiwan, a self-ruled island that China regards as a renegade province, give the lake an extra mystique.

But some locals suspect the hordes of tourists in China eager to visit the lake might be disappointed as development has already caused water pollution and traffic congestion. Locals also complain about unregulated construction without a unified theme as well as breaches of building codes.

"We don't need to limit the number of people, but we need to limit the number of buildings," said Roger Chang, 28, a regular visitor to the lake.

One of the hotels under construction will be 30-storeys high, far above new lake area height restrictions of seven storeys.

"With such a beautiful lake, we need some sort of master planned design to make it work out," said Hu Shan-wen, owner of the 6-year-old Spa Home hotel on the lake shores.

Faced with a faltering economy and high unemployment, the Taiwan government is keen to ramp up tourism to stimulate the services sector. Some critics believe it's eagerness is overcoming any prudence over Sun Moon Lake development projects.

Local authorities promise to put a cap on lakeshore development after the hotels in the pipeline are built, although construction will be allowed to proceed in the surrounding mountains with easy vehicle access to the lake.

There's concern the already congested two-lane highway to the lake will further clog with traffic when the new hotels open up despite a new shoreline shuttle bus route around the lake.

"There's still space to develop, but we should add only a few more hotels as there are transportation limits," said Joe Tseng, general manager of The Lalu, the shoreline's most famous lodging.

POLLUTION

Locals are also concerned that the development boom will cause pollution that might muddy the lake's pristine waters.

Last year, lake pollution rose about 2 percent from 2006 and the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration fined four hotels for improper treatment of wastewater.

"Lake water quality is very important," said tourism official Tseng Kuo-chi. "Right now it's being maintained well but as tourist numbers go up, we're afraid the quality could go down."

Seeking to cope with new pressures, two public water treatment systems will open up next year, handling 95 percent of the lakeshore's sewage, local tourism officials said.

Last year, the government approved funds to landscape the tip of Lalu Island, a boat tour landmark that was once a hill considered sacred by the local Thao aboriginal group.

China and Taiwan want a deal to bring up to 1,000 Chinese tourists to Taiwan per day, but negotiations are stalled. Taiwan is in the throes of a March 22 election and negotiations could be restarted when the new president takes office in late May.

An influx of visitors from China could mean that profits from tourism might outweight concern about environmental impacts.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*China execs tour hot new travel destination Taiwan *

TAIPEI, June 17 (Reuters) - China travel industry executives this week set off on a tour of neighbouring Taiwan, which agreed on Friday in the first talks in almost a decade to receive more than a million tourists per year from its political rival.

The 33 travel agency leaders reached Taiwan on Monday for 11 days of visit to landmarks across the island but have said little to their Taiwan counterparts or to the local media, which trailed the group on its first day.

Communist China has claimed sovereignty over democratic, self-ruled Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong's Communists won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists fled to the island. Beijing has vowed to bring Taiwan under its rule, by force if necessary.

But on Friday the two sides signed a landmark deal which will permit regular, direct weekend charter flights between the two sides and let Chinese tourists visit the island in large numbers, averaging up to 3,000 people per day, starting next month.

Taiwan currently bars most Chinese tourists due to concerns about security and visa overstays.

The agents face a packed schedule of visits to major attractions such as Sun Moon Lake and the Taipei 101 skyscraper as well as the rugged east coast, obscure restaurants and a range of hotels to get information useful for planning client trips.

"They didn't have time to say much and didn't want to," said a Taipei museum publicist who saw the group on Monday.

Taiwan officials and business people are nervous about making a good impression on Chinese tourists, whose business they hope will stimulate the sagging domestic service sector.

"I hope they can see the differences between China and Taiwan," said Bruce Wang with the Taipei Airlines Association. "But their itinerary is very tight, I'm sure."


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Flights raise hopes of economic boost 
Taiwan may see a flood of mainland visitors as ties and infrastructure improve *
23 June 2008
South China Morning Post

Taiwan has always feared a mainland invasion. But an incursion of a different kind into the island from next month is likely to be welcomed with open arms.

Newly approved weekend cross-strait charter flights and visits by mainland tour groups could provide a much-needed boost to the Taiwan economy, which faces slowing growth amid the global downturn.

The tourist industry is eyeing more than NT$60 billion in tourism earnings and 45,000 extra jobs that the new government of President Ma Ying-jeou has promised to create in the first year of the closer links policy. As Beijing still considers Taiwan a breakaway province, direct flights and tourism are banned. Flights between the two go through a third destination, usually Hong Kong.

But while relations between Beijing and Taipei are the warmest in decades, questions are being asked about whether Taiwan or its infrastructure is ready for up to 1 million mainland tourists each year. The answer is yes and no.

In the run-up to the March presidential election, mainland-friendly Mr Ma promised to launch direct weekend charter flights across the Taiwan Strait and open the island to 3,000 mainland visitors daily. He secured mainland support after landmark talks less than two weeks ago in Beijing.

Under their agreement, from July 4 mainland and Taiwanese airlines will each operate 18 return flights from Friday to Monday with a further increase in flights depending on future demand. The flights must still fly over Hong Kong airspace, although the two sides are expected to discuss new direct routes soon.

The mainland will open Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai and Xiamen to the flights and gradually add Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Guilin, Hangzhou and Shenzhen. Taiwan will open eight of its airports - Hualien, Kaohsiung, Kinmen, Penghu, Taichung, Taipei, Taitung and Taoyuan.

While the first mainland tour group of 600 tourists will visit Taiwan on July 4, as many as 3,000 tourists will start arriving daily from July 18. Unlike foreign visitors allowed individual travel and a stay of up to three months, mainland tourists are restricted to travelling in groups of 10 to 14 for a maximum stay of 10 days.

Under Mr Ma's plan, there would be daily charter flights by the end of the year and regular flights by June next year. The number of daily mainland tourists would also increase each year to 10,000 by 2012.

Mainland tourists were previously banned from travelling to Taiwan directly because of security concerns stemming from hostilities following the 1949 civil war.

The Taiwan Tourism Bureau estimates each mainland tourist spent an average of NT$8,700 (HK$2,236) per day - including meals, accommodation, transport and shopping - on the island last year. If 3,000 came each day for a seven-day visit and each spent an average of NT$60,900 during their entire trip, NT$66 billion would flow annually into the tourist industry.

"Imagine by 2010, if there are 10,000 tourists coming from the mainland each day and staying for seven days, there will be 70,000 tourists staying in Taiwan on the same day," said an excited Cheng Ke-che, president of Kaohsiung City Tour Bus Association. "How many tour buses would be needed to carry them? You can see how big the profit would be."

That rosy prospect is boosted by news that more than 13,000 tourists from Beijing, Guangdong, Shanghai and Wenzhou are fighting for the 600 seats for the first tour group coming directly to Taiwan. The potential of the new market has prompted travel agencies on both sides of the strait to intensify preparations.

A 39-member delegation representing 33 mainland travel agencies arrived on June 16 for an 11-day visit to survey the Taiwan tourism market and design tour packages for mainland tourists.

Straits Travel Agency, an affiliate of the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, has prepared 20 thematic tour packages ranging from regular sightseeing to cultural and even wedding picture tours.

"Taiwan is known for its fabulous filming of deluxe wedding pictures for would-be couples," Feng Zhouzhi, director of the agency, told Taiwan's cable news network TVBS.

"Some Taiwanese wedding boutique shops have opened branches [on the mainland] to offer a similar service that has attracted a number of Chinese people."

He said tour packages offered by his agency were educational, such as showing tourists how the Dutch invaded Taiwan centuries ago and taking the visitors to Anping Castle in Tainan county.

"Otherwise, if you just show them the buildings without a story, it would make their trips less interesting," he said.

Taiwanese travel agencies agreed. Even local governments, eager to increase tourism revenue, have arranged for the opening or remodelling of former residences and memorial buildings of historical figures.

The Hsinchu county government has remodelled the old residence of former warlord Chang Hsueh-liang, who had been under house arrest in Hsinchu for 13 years. "Many mainland tourists are interested in historical figures like Chang," said county commissioner Cheng Yung-chin.

Chang, considered a patriotic hero by Beijing, gained fame for kidnapping Kuomintang generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek in Xian in 1936 and holding him until he agreed to form a united front with the Chinese communists against the Japanese invasion.

The Taipei city government is planning to open the former home of Chiang and his wife Soong May-ling in Shihlin, while Taoyuan county has reopened the mausoleums of the late Chiang and his son, President Chiang Ching-kuo, which were shut by the former pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party government in a bid to erase the Chiang legacy and the island's historic link with the mainland.

But the army of expected tourists could also bring big challenges. Janice Lai She-chen, director-general of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, has warned local agencies against poor service quality.

"Authorities would step in to intervene if any travel agencies are found to be providing poor and unreasonable services," she said, adding that in serious cases, negligent agents would be banned from serving mainland tourists. There are 163 agencies qualified to operate cross-strait tours.

Her warning followed criticism that some Taiwanese travel agencies not only put tourists in low-class hotels, but also provide poor meals and force them to buy expensive merchandise, many of which are second-rate or even bogus.

"If we want to continue earning money from the mainland tourists, we must at least have a farsighted vision and prevent the business from being a one-time deal," said KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung, whose historic meeting with mainland President Hu Jintao late last month set the stage for the weekend charter flights and cross-strait tourism.

He said he had heard of complaints from mainland tourists that Taiwanese sold bogus tea to them on trips to Alishan, a must-visit mountain scenic spot.

According to government statistics, there are 60 international-class hotels, 30 ordinary-class and 2,601 small hotels. By 2010, if the number of mainland tourists increases to 10,000 per day, there will not be enough rooms for them. Tourism officials said these offered opportunities for local investors.

Billy Chang Kuo-cheng, director of the Civil Aeronautics Administration, said while there should be no problem Kaohsiung, Taichung, Taipei and Taoyuan airports to operate charter flights, facilities at the remaining designated airports needed to be improved or expanded.

Hsiao Teng-ke, director of the Taipei airport, said the airport authorities have spent NT$20 million to increase its facilities with the renovation and expansion expected to be completed before July 4.

The launch of the weekend charter flights is good news to Taiwanese airlines hurt by rising fuel costs and falling passenger numbers amid the global economic downturn.

Six airlines, including China Airlines and Eva Air, are eager to operate the lucrative route which will generate NT$6.5 billion in profits if 1.09 million mainland tourists arrive each year.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Taiwan tour operators sceptical about China boom *
6 July 2008
Agence France Presse

The launch of regular direct flights between China and Taiwan has been hailed as a symbol of progress and a boon to tourism, but industry workers here are not all convinced.

Around 700 mainland tourists arrived on the island to much ceremony over the weekend after taking the charter route, seen as ushering in a new start and the most visible sign yet in the thawing of cross-strait relations.

Taiwan has restricted trade and travel since its split from the mainland in 1949 but the election of Beijing-friendly Ma Ying-jeou in March opened the door to warmer ties.

In a sign of rapprochement, the two sides last month held their first direct talks in a decade and signed agreements to launch the flights and treble the number of Chinese allowed to visit the island to 3,000 daily.

Tourism officials hope the extra visitors, beside promoting cordial people-to-people exchanges, will bring in 60 billion Taiwan dollars (1.97 billion US) annually, a big boost to local trade.

But some tour operators are sceptical.

"The agreements might look good on paper but I dare not think how much I can profit from that with a slow economy, rising inflation and high fuel prices," said Wu Shih-chih, who hires out yachts to tourists.

"I will not consider buying a new yacht or other equipment unless I can see a steady increase in business within six months," said Wu, who has four craft taking visitors around Sun Moon Lake, a popular destination in central Taiwan.

Others are concerned that Chinese tourists, sometimes seen as loud and ill-mannered, could drive away other international travellers.

"We have fewer Japanese visitors since the government opened up to more mainlanders," lamented a bus driver who works for a leading travel agency in Taipei.

"I am not thrilled at receiving the mainlanders because they can be proud and impolite, they think China is so important in the world," said the driver, who asked not to be named.

Jack Lee, manager of a Taipei travel agency, said he often gets complaints from restaurants or shops that Chinese tour groups are too noisy or pay no attention to no-smoking signs.

"Some waiters also complained that Chinese customers throw bones or leftovers on the floor instead of leaving them on the plates or let cigarette ash fall everywhere," Lee said, although most were willing to oblige when told.

Restaurateur Liu Ming-sung was blatant in expressing his dislike for mainland tourists, putting up a sign reading "refusing Chinese communists" at his establishment in southern Kaohsiung city.

"I think President Ma is wrong to see opening up to mainland investments and tourists as an elixir for Taiwan's economy," Liu said.

"Let's not forget that China is targeting Taiwan with thousands of missiles and they are still our enemies. Taiwan might be at risk under such rash moves," he said.

His sentiments mirror Ma's predecessor Chen Shui-bian, whose pro-independence rhetoric had angered Beijing. China claims Taiwan as its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

However, changes have been rapid since Ma took office in May.

Taiwan banks can now exchange Chinese currency, limits on Taiwanese investment on the mainland have been eased, and some Chinese media outlets which had been banned on the island now have clearance to work.

There will be 36 round-trip flights across the Taiwan Strait weekly, operating from Friday to Monday between six Taiwanese airports and five on the mainland.

Johnny Tsai, a manager at China Times Travel Service, called the weekend flights "a good start" to boost tourism although he expected a more tangible effect once the trips bed in.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Three Chinese tourists go missing in Taiwan *
10 July 2008
Agence France Presse

Three Chinese tourists have gone missing in Taiwan, an immigration official said Thursday, only days after the two sides launched direct flights to boost tourism and thaw cross-strait relations.

The women arrived in Taipei from Thailand on July 3 and have not been seen since leaving their hotel late Tuesday, said an official at Taiwan's National Immigration Agency.

Their disappearance has highlighted the problems of increased cross-strait tourism less than a week after 700 mainland holidaymakers arrived here on the first regular direct flights between China and the self-ruled island in nearly six decades.

Authorities fear some Chinese tourists will try to stay on illegally. Including the three women, 27 have gone missing since Taiwan conditionally allowed visitors from the mainland in 2002, according to the immigration agency.

Lawmaker Lin Shu-fen of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party said Taiwan's government was now "paying the price" for a failure to prepare adequately for the influx.

Taiwan previously imposed a daily quota of 1,000 Chinese visitors who were required to make stopovers in a third destination.

The missing tourists will be banned from visiting the island for the next five years, while the local agency that arranged their stay will face a fine of 600,000 Taiwan dollars (19,800 US) if they are not found by July 13.

Taiwan banned direct trade and transport links following its split from the communist mainland in 1949, but the election of Beijing-friendly Ma Ying-jeou in March opened the door to warmer ties.

The two sides held their first direct talks in a decade last month, which led to the flights agreement, putting an end to the time-consuming stopovers travellers were forced to make for years in Hong Kong or elsewhere.


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## brightside. (Jan 10, 2008)

This is good news. I hope to see reunification of these two entities one day.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*So where are all the mainland tourists? 
Thousands await approval to visit Taiwan *
16 July 2008
South China Morning Post

With fewer than 200 mainland tourists being approved to visit Taiwan so far this week, the island's tour operators cannot help but wonder whether the opening policy can really achieve what the government envisaged at the beginning.

Under a deal signed by Taipei and Beijing last month that lifts decades-old restrictions on mainland tourists visiting the island, about 3,000 visitors are allowed to come to Taiwan every day.

They would contribute NT$66 billion (HK$16.9 billion) to the island's economy during their stays, according to a plan by Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, who has opted for an engagement policy with the mainland in the hope of reviving Taiwan's sluggish economy.

But the trial run on July 4 brought only 753 mainland visitors, including 31 officials and 60 journalists. The programme officially starts this Friday.

"I really wonder whether that 3,000 number can be reached at all," said an operator of a Taiwanese travel agency.

She said that according to her information, thousands of mainland tourists had applied to visit Taiwan since July 4, but as of yesterday, only 183 had obtained the travel permits from the mainland authorities.

Under the requirement by Taiwan's immigration authorities, it takes five working days to process the applications to visit Taiwan from tourists who have obtained the travel permits issued by the mainland.

"This means only 183 mainland visitors will come on Friday unless Taiwan's immigration authorities make some special arrangements to [speed up] the process," the travel agency operator said.

She said from what she had learned through her mainland counterparts, unfamiliarity with the new measures was the major reason for the delay. The Taiwanese operator said she hoped the procedure would take less time as the mainland authorities became more familiar with it.

For mainland tourists to get approval to visit, they must provide documents showing they are either students or properly employed. They must also have financial documents showing they have savings of at least NT$200,000.

The requirement is due mainly to the concern that some tourists may run away once they get to Taiwan and work illegally there.

Hsu Kao-ching, secretary general of Taiwan's Travel Agent Association, was, however, more optimistic. He estimated 2,000 to 4,000 mainland tourists would arrive from Friday to Monday. Mr Hsu said mainland agencies were expected to refer 500 applications per day in the next few days to the island's immigration department for approval.

To ensure at least 1,000 would come on Friday, Taiwan's immigration department said yesterday that it would make special processing arrangements to speed up the approval process, as long as the applications reached Taiwan by tomorrow.

David Chi - director of Phoenix Tours, one of the leading agencies operating cross-strait tours - said his agency had already referred 30 applications from Shanghai to the immigration department for processing.

"At least we will be able to organise one tour group this week," he said.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Taiwan mulls bridge linking offshore island to China *

TAIPEI, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Taiwan is considering building a bridge linking Kinmen, one of its outlying islands, to Xiamen city in China's southeast, the semi-official Central News Agency said on Sunday, in a sign of improving ties.

"The idea, talked about by many Kinmen residents, of building a bridge between Kinmen and Xiamen in China's southeastern Fujian province could also be discussed," the agency quoted Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou as saying.

The government will complete a proposal by the end of the year on whether constructing the bridge would be feasible, Ma was quoted as saying in Kinmen, a former battlefield known historically as Quemoy.

Ma, who was in Kinmen to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1958 artillery battle between Taiwan and China, also said his administration planned to offer landing visas or multiple visas to mainland Chinese visiting Kinmen, to boost tourism exchanges.

Ma from the Nationalist Party has been unveiling a slew of policies to boost trade ties with China, such as allowing more tourists to visit Taiwan and increasing direct flights.

China sees self-ruled democratic Taiwan as its own and has vowed to take it back into its fold, by force if necessary. The Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang, fled to Taiwan after losing a Chinese civil war to the communists in 1949.

In 1958, Kinmen was locked in a battle with China that lasted for 44 days when Chinese artillery troops bombed the island with 500,000 shells, the Central News Agency said.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Taiwan mulls bridge linking offshore island to China *

TAIPEI, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Taiwan is considering building a bridge linking Kinmen, one of its outlying islands, to Xiamen city in China's southeast, the semi-official Central News Agency said on Sunday, in a sign of improving ties.

"The idea, talked about by many Kinmen residents, of building a bridge between Kinmen and Xiamen in China's southeastern Fujian province could also be discussed," the agency quoted Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou as saying.

The government will complete a proposal by the end of the year on whether constructing the bridge would be feasible, Ma was quoted as saying in Kinmen, a former battlefield known historically as Quemoy.

Ma, who was in Kinmen to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1958 artillery battle between Taiwan and China, also said his administration planned to offer landing visas or multiple visas to mainland Chinese visiting Kinmen, to boost tourism exchanges.

Ma from the Nationalist Party has been unveiling a slew of policies to boost trade ties with China, such as allowing more tourists to visit Taiwan and increasing direct flights.

China sees self-ruled democratic Taiwan as its own and has vowed to take it back into its fold, by force if necessary. The Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang, fled to Taiwan after losing a Chinese civil war to the communists in 1949.

In 1958, Kinmen was locked in a battle with China that lasted for 44 days when Chinese artillery troops bombed the island with 500,000 shells, the Central News Agency said.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*China further eases travel to Taiwan *

BEIJING, Sept 8 (Reuters) - China on Sunday further eased travel to self-ruled Taiwan, an island it considers sovereign territory, in a further sign of revitalised trade and transit links between the two sides.

Historic regular flights between Taiwan and China began in July in a show of conciliation between the long-time rivals that could bring large numbers of mainland Chinese visitors to the island.

No such regular flights, aside from a few charters on select holidays, had flown since 1949, when defeated Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan after the Chinese civil war.

China has claimed sovereignty over the island since then and has vowed to bring it back under mainland rule, by force if necessary.

Now Chinese mainland residents with permits to travel to Taiwan will be able to travel to and from the Chinese islands of Kinmen and Matsu and the Taiwan-administered island of Penghu, Wang Yi, director of the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, said.

Until July, mainland travellers had two ways to reach Taiwan -- indirect flights via Hong Kong or Macao or non-stop charter flights on weekends and some holidays.

Since July 20, residents of selected cities and provinces have been allowed to visit Taiwan in groups. Wang said the mainland was considering expanding the list further.

The July flights were largely the work of new Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, who took office in May on pledges to revitalise the island's economy with closer trade and transit ties to China. He has estimated that 50 million Chinese want to visit Taiwan.

But trickier issues remain, such as the signing of a formal peace treaty and the hundreds of missiles Taiwan says China has aimed at the island.

Wang hoped that both sides would do more to establish direct cross-Strait links for mail, trade and transport.

"Since March, significant and positive changes have taken place in Taiwan, presenting precious opportunities for the development of cross-Strait ties," Xinhua news agency quoted Wang as saying.

"With concerted efforts by both sides, cross-Strait ties have moved into a track of peaceful development, bringing concrete benefits to compatriots on both sides." (Reporting by Nick Macfie)


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*FACTBOX-Taiwan opens to Chinese tourists, investors *

TAIPEI, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Since taking office in May, the administration of Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou has announced a steady stream of initiatives aimed at boosting the economy through closer ties with political archrival China.

Ma kicked off his string of initiatives with a landmark tourism and air agreement shortly after taking office. The following are some of the major new moves and announcements from Ma's government since May:

-- In June, Taiwan signed a landmark agreement with China to allow as many as 3,000 mainland tourists in per day. That deal, which some said could add as much as 0.8 percentage points to Taiwan's GDP, also included the launch of cross-strait charter flights every weekend.

-- In June, local media reported that Chinese banks will be allowed to buy up to 20 percent of their Taiwan counterparts under a plan being developed by Taiwan's banking regulator.

-- In July, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan said the government aimed to open the financial, economic, transport, human resources and land sectors to Chinese investors by year end.

-- In July, Taiwan's cabinet said it would allow qualified Chinese institutional investors to pump more than $1 billion into the island's stock market.

-- In August, local media reported Taiwan was considering allowing mainlanders to set up bank accounts on the island as it prepared to open its markets to Chinese institutional investors.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*ANALYSIS-China tourists, dollars could charm, alarm Taiwan *

TAIPEI, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Two decades after letting its people and companies go to China, Taiwan is opening itself to Chinese investors and visitors -- a move that could carry big economic dividends but also one fraught with political risk.

By opening itself to a flood of Chinese tourists and investment dollars, Taiwan is exposing its markets, economy and political and social systems to huge influence from its much larger neighbor and political rival.

Some forecast the injection of new activity could boost Taiwan's laggard economy by as much 2 percentage points. But lack of progress or a backlash if change occurs too quickly could also undermine the new China-friendly government.

"There will be some initial apprehension when mainland capital comes in to buy real estate, business or other things," said Wu Ray-kuo, managing director of risk consultancy at Fu-Jen University.

"After that, it will depend on how the mainland capital is used. If all these control relaxations don't lead to the desired result, there could potentially be public backlash."

Since President Ma Ying-jeou took office in May, his administration has announced a steady stream of initiatives aimed at opening Taiwan to Chinese and their investments, ending six decades of prohibition.

The first of those, a landmark tourism deal in June, could result in up to $3.2 billion in additional tourism spending each year, adding 0.8 percentage points to Taiwan's gross domestic product, BNP said in a July research note.

Since then, Ma's administration has discussed or announced plans to open Taiwan's stock, real estate, infrastructure and manufacturing markets to China in the near to medium term.

In the longer term, Ma has also talked up the idea of creating a Greater China common market modeled on Europe.

BIG BENEFITS

The potential benefits to Ma's initiatives are economic, designed to help Taiwan share in China's rapid economic growth, which has averaged more than 10 percent in recent years.

If handled properly, allowing Chinese consumers and investors into Taiwan could add up to 2 percentage points to Taiwan's economic growth, Roth Capital Partners forecast in April.

"We believe globally oriented investors have not yet sufficiently focused on the improved long-term opportunities that Taiwan represents," Roth said in a note at that time.

JP Morgan economist Grace Ng said the extra boost could be as high as 1 percentage point, citing Hong Kong as an example of what could happen.

GDP growth in the former British colony shot up to the 6-7 percent range from previous rates closer to 4 percent after it opened its doors to large numbers of Chinese tourists in 2003.

"It's a matter of how much they can unlock the potential benefits from the cross-strait links," she said.

China has claimed self-ruled Taiwan as its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949 and pledged to bring the island under its rule, by force if necessary.

Political rivalry aside, Taiwan firms have pumped more than $100 billion into China over the last 20 years, and Taiwan now counts China as its favourite export destination. Some 1 million of Taiwan's 23 million people now live or work in China.

Following Ma's election, many hope capital will start to flow back to Taiwan. Credit Suisse economist Joseph Lau said that could happen, but any results will take time.

"Over the next couple years, Taiwan will still probably be one of the laggards in the region and pretty much as a whole will be trying to find ways to stimulate the economy," he said.

DOWNSIDE RISKS

While the upside looks good, analysts caution that Ma and his government must tread carefully to avoid potential negative reaction if Taiwan is perceived as giving away too much without getting enough in return.

If it fails to deliver, the administration could see vocal public protest in the short term, and stiff competition longer term from his party's main opponent, the China-wary Democratic Progressive Party, now mired in a series of scandals that led to its defeat in the March presidential election.

"I would guess that Ma is going to face pretty strong backlash because he's changing things quite a bit and there's generally resistance to change no matter what is," said Syd Goldsmith, a former U.S. diplomat and current Taiwan resident.

"There's also the feeling that he's giving away (Taiwan's) negotiating chips on China."

Disappointment at the lack of instant results beyond the tourism agreement has already shown up visibly in Taiwan's stock and currency markets.

In the first three months of the year, the Taiwan dollar gained 6.3 percent, only to drop 5.8 percent since then.

The Taiwan stock market has moved similarly, rising 19 percent from the end of January through May, only to plummet 35 percent since that time, though part of that has been due to the global financial crisis.


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## goschio (Dec 2, 2002)

One day they will just reunite. Perhaps with transition period like HK.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Taiwan's China tourism boom stumbles amid financial turmoil *
26 October 2008
Agence France Presse

Taiwan welcomed the first Chinese visitors arriving on direct flights three months ago as a boon for tourism, but global financial troubles and local political uncertainty might deflate such hopes.

Taiwan has severely limited trade and travel with China since the two sides split at the end of a civil war in 1949, but change has been rapid since Beijing-friendly Ma Ying-jeou became president in May.

His government resumed talks with Beijing in June, which led to the launch of regular direct flights and tripling the number of Chinese allowed to visit the island to 3,000 daily the following month.

The authorities here were counting on the extra visitors to bring in 60 billion Taiwan dollars (1.87 billion US) annually in a major boost to tourism and the economy.

Despite the rapprochement, fewer than 300 Chinese visitors came to the island on average every day since July, and the number only doubled during China's October 1 "Golden Week" holiday, according to government data.

Industry watchers, however, are not surprised by the low turnout.

"Many of our customers lose interest once they learn that it takes one and a half months just to complete the paperwork to visit Taiwan," said a tour guide from the southeastern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

"Instead they opt for places like Thailand which is cheaper and only takes three days to get a visa," said the guide surnamed Xu.

China has imposed various restrictions on travel to Taiwan, which it considers part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

Currently, Beijing only allows people from 13 provinces and cities to apply for permits to visit the island, while 33 mainland agencies are authorised to manage Taiwan tours.

Tour operators are also concerned that the recent incident of a top Chinese negotiator who was mobbed in southern Taiwan could dissuade more mainland visitors.

Zhang Mingqing, vice president of China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, was shoved to the ground by pro-independence protesters in a scuffle earlier this month.

The episode triggered an angry response from the Chinese government, which demanded Taiwan severely punish the activists who manhandled Zhang.

"The incident is likely to impact tourism in the short term," said Eric Chang, chief executive officer of the Taiwan Visitors Association.

"But I think the Chinese people will come to see that this was an isolated case and that the vast majority of Taiwanese are friendly toward them," he said.

Politics aside, the tourism industry is bracing for the global financial storm which is likely to force many people to scrap or alter holiday plans.

"The cost of visiting Taiwan from the mainland is as high as to Europe or America and travel will be affected in an economic downturn," said Ivan Lin, a manager at China Travel Service (Taiwan), a leading agency handling Chinese tourists.

According to travel agencies, an eight-day trip to Taiwan is priced between 7,000-10,000 Chinese yuan (1,030-1,475 US) while a seven-day Thai tour is around 1,800 yuan.

"The harsh winter has just begun for us after the global market crash. I'm afraid that more and more people will cut travel spending to save money in difficult times," said a travel agency manager in Taipei.

"We were optimistic that the Ma government would boost tourism by improving ties with China but I think the current (economic) situation is beyond its hands," he said.

Ma rose to power on a platform of improving the economy, particularly through closer trade ties with China, as trade between the two sides last year rose to more than 100 billion US dollars.

Still, there is a silver lining as industry workers are hopeful that Beijing will agree to relax more rules on travel to the island when its top negotiator Chen Yunlin is scheduled to hold talks with Taipei next month.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Chinese pandas to arrive in Taiwan by Christmas: official *
12 December 2008
Agence France Presse

A pair of giant pandas offered by China were expected to arrive in Taiwan by Christmas in yet another sign of improving ties, an official said Friday.

"The Taipei city government plans to send a small delegation to Sichuan, China to bring the pandas here sometime between December 20-25," said spokesman Yang Hsiao-tung.

Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin expects the pandas to attract more than six million visitors to the city's zoo annually in a major boost to the capital's tourism industry.

Local media said officials were keen to bring the pandas to the island by Christmas in time for them to debut at the Lunar New Year holidays -- the peak tourism season -- after a 30-day quarantine.

The city government has invested some 320 million Taiwan dollars (around 10 million US) to build an enclosure for the pandas called Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, which comes from the Chinese word "tuanyuan", or "reunion."

Ties with Beijing have improved dramatically since China-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou took office earlier this year.

The pro-independence Chen Shui-bian had banned the import of Chinese pandas during his tenure, accusing Beijing of looking to curry favour with the Taiwanese people through so-called "panda diplomacy".

Beijing made the panda offer during a historic trip to China in 2005 by Taiwan's then opposition leader, former Kuomintang chairman Lien Chan.

Taiwan and China split in 1949 at the end of a civil war. Beijing still considers the self-ruled island to be part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

China, which has used panda diplomacy worldwide since the Cold War, has reportedly made at least three other attempts to give pandas to Taiwan -- none through official channels.

Beijing's pandas usually come with enormous rental fees, but the Chinese have said there would be no charges for Taiwan.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Prospects for cross-strait tourism seen as uncertain *

Taipei, Feb. 1 (CNA) Although both Taiwan and China took concrete steps last year to upgrade cross-Taiwan Strait tourism, the number of tourist arrivals from China has fallen short of the average daily target of 1000 people, casting doubts over the future prospects of the business, industry sources said Sunday.

According to Chang Chih-yuan, owner of E Trip tour agency based in central Taiwan's Taichung City, the problem is rooted in the many restrictions imposed by the governments on both sides, rather than in the global economic downturn.

Taiwan government restrictions, such as the condition that only groups of more than five members are allowed to visit and that they must enter and depart the country at the same time, have discouraged many individual Chinese businessmen who are most likely to visit Taiwan and to spend heavily, he said.

The Taiwan government's stipulation of the type and price of accommodation that Chinese tourists must take is another obstacle to the free development of the market, Chang noted, adding that free market competition will settle the issue itself.

What the government should do is set up a sound system to monitor business practices, instead of imposing such regulations, he suggested.

In line with the terms of an accord signed by Taiwan and China last November, the two sides agreed to operate a maximum of 108 charters each week, based on a framework established in July when they began allowing non-stop cross-strait charters on weekends.

Taiwan opened eight of its airports to local and China-based airlines plying the daily cross-strait charter flights, but the aviation companies have concentrated most of their business on four of the airports. These are Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei Songshan Airport in northern Taiwan, Taichung Chingchuankang Airport in central Taiwan and Kaohsiung International Airport in the south.

In China, the number of destinations for the direct cross-strait charters were increased from five to 21 when the flight service was upgraded to a daily one in mid-December last year.

However, he added, only a small number of 33 Chinese travel agencies have been given permission to arrange tours to Taiwan and the limited number of direct charter flights between popular destinations on the two sides have dampened the interest of many people who were keen to cash in on the business.

Too many unnecessary government restrictions will only hamper market mechanisms, Chang contended.

With the governments on both sides interfering in the market, it is difficult to predict when cross-strait tourism would fully take off, he said.

In addition, Taiwan is facing a long-existing gap in cross-strait tourism revenue, which Chang said has become a thorny issue for all concerned.

Taiwanese people make more than 2 million visits to China every year, while less than 10 percent of Chinese tourists traveling abroad come to Taiwan, he said. "This is a serious issue that both Taiwan government authorities and the private sector must address."


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Taiwan set to welcome up to 360,000 Chinese tourists in 2009 as limits eased *
3 February 2009
Agence France Presse

Around 13,000 Chinese tourists have travelled to Taiwan for the Lunar New Year holidays, and the number is expected to reach up to 360,000 this year amid warming cross-Strait ties, officials said Tuesday.

The Chinese tourists spent a daily average of 293 US dollars during the holidays from January 24 until February 1, according to a survey by Taiwan's Tourism Bureau.

"The number of Chinese arrivals did not beat our forecast," Anthony Liao, president of Taiwan's leading tour operator Phoenix Tours, said.

But he added that he was "cautiously optimistic" that Chinese arrivals would average 1,000 a day as Beijing is expected to further ease restrictions on Taiwan-bound tours.

Chinese authorities on January 20 opened up a further 12 provinces and cities to Taiwan, meaning its citizens from 25 provinces and cities are now allowed to visit the island.

China is expected later this month to raise from 33 to 100 the number of Chinese tour operators offering Taiwan visits, Liao said.

Shao Qiwei, of China's National Tourism Administratio,n is scheduled to lead a group of 500 tour industry delegates to Taiwan on February 25, he said.

"If the target of bringing 1,000 Chinese tourists to Taiwan per day is realised, it would generate business opportunities worth up to 20 billion Taiwan dollars (591.7 million US) this year, and therefore increase 10,000 jobs here," Liao said.

Taiwan's China-friendly Ma Ying-jeou administration and Beijing held talks and signed agreements in June to launch regular direct flights and treble the number of Chinese allowed to visit the island to 3,000 daily.

But Taiwan's pro-independence opposition Democratic Progressive Party warned the Ma administration not to rely too much on China for economic stability.

China and Taiwan have been governed separately since the end of a civil war in 1949 but Beijing considers the island part of its territory and is determined to get it back, by force if necessary.

But relations have improved dramatically since Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang party took office last May.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Taiwan okays Star Cruises to operate direct cruises to China *

TAIPEI, Feb 10 Asia in Focus - After many twists and turns, Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) finally approved Friday an application by STAR CRUISES (SEHK:0678) to operate direct cruises to China without having to stop in a third territory. It marked the first time that Taiwan has given the green light to the operation of direct cross-Taiwan Strait cruise service.

* The MOTC said in a press statement that the one-year license for Star Cruises was issued on a case-by-case basis in terms of the regulations governing direct cross-strait shipping links.

* According to a schedule listed in the Star Cruises application, the largest cruise line in the Asia-Pacific will launch direct cruise service between Keelung Harbor in northern Taiwan and Xiamen in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian in the first half of this year.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*China pledges to boost tourism to rival Taiwan *

TAIPEI, Feb 26 (Reuters) - China pledged on Thursday to try to increase the number of Chinese tourists visiting neighbouring Taiwan, addressing a sore spot in recently improved ties between the long-time political rivals.

Chinese Tourism Administration director Shao Qiwei said he would allow more Chinese agents to sell Taiwan tours and let tourists from more provinces and cities visit the once forbidden island.

China would increase the number of eligible provinces and municipalities from 13 to 25 and the number of qualified agents from 113 to 146, Shao said.

"We need to raise the confidence of tourists," Shao told a conference.

China has claimed sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. Beijing has vowed to bring the island under mainland rule, by force if necessary.

But ties have warmed since China-friendly Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou took office in May and the two sides have signed a deal to let up to 3,000 Chinese tourists a day visit the island.

Taiwan is looking to Chinese tourism as a way to shore up its own economy, which entered recession earlier this month.

The number of daily arrivals has hovered around 300, despite the launch of direct China-Taiwan flights, disappointing Taiwan officials.

Steep collateral required by some Chinese agents, qualification hurdles for both agents and tourists in China and fear of political hostility in Taiwan have limited the inflow, travel sources say.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Taiwan welcomes biggest Chinese tourist group *
Mon Mar 16, 1:59 am ET

KEELUNG, Taiwan (AFP) – Taiwan rolled out the red carpet Monday for the biggest group of Chinese tourists to arrive on the island since the launch of direct transport links with mainland China last year.

A passenger ship docked in northern Keelung harbour, close to the capital Taipei, bringing some 1,600 tourists from Shanghai who walked ashore on a red carpet laid out in their honour.

"We have long anticipated the trip," said one man who arrived here with his fiancee, adding that they planned to hold their wedding on the boat.

It is the biggest tourist group to arrive from China since direct flights and maritime services began in December in a sign of rapidly improving ties between Taiwan and China, which claims sovereignty over the island.

The visitors are all Chinese workers for the American direct selling giant Amway, which says it plans to send eight more groups from the mainland.

Hundreds of people from the port authorities, Keelung city and Amway Taiwan were there to welcome the visitors, who were also treated to dragon and lion dances.

Local media here say the total number of Amway visitors would total 12,000 and that they were expected to generate more than 600 million Taiwan dollars (17.44 million US) in revenue for the island.

President Ma Ying-jeou's China-friendly administration signed agreements with Beijing last June to launch regular direct flights and treble the number of Chinese allowed to visit Taiwan to 3,000 daily.

Since then, daily arrivals have averaged only a few hundred, triggering opposition warnings that Ma's administration should not rely too heavily on China for Taiwan's economic stability.

China and Taiwan have been governed separately since the end of a civil war in 1949, but Beijing considers the island as part of Chinese territory and is determined to get it back -- by force if necessary.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*China, Taiwan grow closer with new surge in tourism *

TAIPEI, March 17 (Reuters) - Taiwan has seen a sudden spike in tourism from China, as an effort by Beijing to improve ties helps its political rival battle recession with a long-sought boost to the service sector.

The number of tourists from China, which considers the self-ruled island part of its territory and has historically been blocked from sending visitors, has reached an average of 2,285 per day since February when the new push began.

The sudden boom, which comes as people around the world cut back on travel amid the global economic crisis, has fuelled a rally in tourism stocks, with Taiwan's two leading airlines, China Airlines and Eva Airways, both up more than 20 percent over the last week and the broader tourism sub-index up 16 percent.

"It's because the Taiwan government added pressure on China to relax rules on tourism," said Winston Hsieh, a director at Martin Travel in Taipei. "Chinese are curious about Taiwan."

China has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. Beijing has vowed to bring the island under mainland rule, by force if necessary, but ties have improved vastly since China-friendly Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou came to power in May.

China has sought to win hearts in Taiwan, a strategy for eventual unification, by helping Ma honour a campaign pledge to revitalise his economy by letting in a daily maximum of 3,000 visitors from China.

New trade and transit agreements between the two sides saw daily charter flights launched on Dec. 15 as a prelude to scheduled services.

Beijing in January nearly doubled the number of citizens eligible for trips and simplified the sign-up process to visit Taiwan, which once saw Chinese visitors as security threats.

Chinese people's wealth and ability to travel have surged over the past two decades as the economy has boomed.

Airlines previously at about 70 percent capacity on China-Taiwan routes are suddenly up to 92 percent full this month and clamouring for new flights, Taiwan's aviation authority said.

Beijing's Air China chairman, Kong Dong, told tourism officials in Taipei on Monday he wanted to add flights. Competitors, which include Taiwan's China Airlines and Eva, have expressed similar interest.

But airlines can add nothing until today's daily charters, which began in July, are upgraded to regular scheduled flights.

"Passenger volumes are huge, so the airlines say they need more flights," an aviation authority publicist said. "But we have to wait for the two sides to talk again."

Some tourists are also coming by sea.

A liner from Shanghai dropped off 1,600 Chinese tourists in Taiwan on Monday on a four-day, T$500 million ($14.5 million) trip. Travellers said they would spend up to several hundred dollars on souvenirs for envious friends at home.

"This is China's treasure island, so we need to come have a look at it," said camera-toting passenger Chen Xiaobo, of east China's Zhejiang province, who arrived on the ship from Shanghai.


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## Dallas star (Jul 6, 2006)

It's great, but still 3,000 chinese tourists a day? How do they directly control how many people come in or out of the country?


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Dallas star said:


> It's great, but still 3,000 chinese tourists a day? How do they directly control how many people come in or out of the country?


I thought they all have to come in group tours, and get visas, hence the total numbers can be controlled.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Chinese Tourists Generated Over US$300M Rev Jul-Mar *
7 April 2009

TAIPEI (Dow Jones)--Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan from mid-July to late-March generated more than US$300 million worth of tourism revenue for the island, the Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement Tuesday.

Nearly 150,000 mainland tourists visited Taiwan during the period, with the daily arrivals rising to 2,206 in late March from 274 in July, said the council, Taiwan's top China policy maker, in the statement.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*KMT caucus proposes easier trips to China *
13 April 2009
Taipei Times

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers have proposed an amendment to the Act Governing Relations between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area that would allow mayors and county commissioners to visit China without seeking permission.

The proposal, initiated by KMT legislators Chu Fong-chi, Chang Ching-chung and others, would also lift cross-strait travel restrictions on high-ranking public servants and police officers.

The Act requires senior public servants, senior police officers and officials of various agencies related to national security to apply with the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) for approval to travel to China.

It also requires mayors and commissioners to obtain approval from a committee of officials from the MOI, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the National Security Bureau (NSB) before visiting China.

Chu said the restrictions make trips to China inconvenient and ineffective for mayors and county commissioners.

Mayors and county commissioners could promote Taiwan's agricultural products, tourism, business and culture in China, she said, adding that their posts did not concern issues of national security.

The proposal says that only officials from the Ministry of National Defense, the NSB, the MOJ's Investigation Bureau and public servants working with national security issues should be restricted from visiting China.

The legislature's Internal Administration Committee is scheduled to review the amendment on Wednesday.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus said it opposed the amendment.

Senior officials could leak information on national security if they make frequent visits to China without restrictions, DPP caucus whip Lee Chun-yee said.

Lee said that in a number of cases, government officials from various agencies had been charged with spying for China.

"The proposed amendment would hurt Taiwan's national interests and put the county in danger," Lee said. "Such an amendment is irresponsible because it was proposed without a thorough review of its potential impact on national security."

In related news, former vice president Annette Lu and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng yesterday disagreed on communication between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

While Lu said she was in favor of abolishing the party-to-party platform, Wang said it remained essential.

The two made the remarks at a fundraising event in Taipei.

Wang said the KMT and CCP had both been founded in China and had been at odds for a long time. Now they have begun interacting and set up a platform that serves as a buffer and a preliminary communication channel, he said.

Lu said she could not know whether any secret deals were being made between the KMT and CCP, but that the KMT could not represent the government or President Ma Ying-jeou in negotiating.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*TAIWAN'S TOURISM BUREAU REVISES INCENTIVE PLAN TO INCLUDE CHINA*
25 May 2009
Asia Pulse

TAIPEI, May 25 Asia Pulse - Chinese tour operators who organize charter flights to Taiwan that bypass Taiwan's two main northern airports are now eligible for subsidies from the Tourism Bureau, after the bureau recently revised a tourism incentive program.

Under the modified regulations, Chinese travel agents will receive NT$160,000 (US$4,878) per charter as long as it does not use Taipei City's Songshan Airport and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and carries at least 100 foreign passengers who stay a minimum of two days in Taiwan.

Tourism Bureau officials said that if the charters either take off or land at one of the two northern airports, or carry between 50 and 100 passengers, the charter operators will be eligible for partial subsidies.

The incentive is designed to expose foreign tourists to parts of the country outside of the popular northern gateways, including its outlying islands, bureau officials said.

The vast majority of the current 108 direct charter flights between Taiwan and China per week use one of the two northern airports even though a total of eight local airports have been authorized to handle the direct charters.

Of the 108 direct charters per week, only four serve the southern port city of Kaohsiung and only two serve Taichung in central Taiwan.

The Tourism Bureau launched the incentive program in May 2005 to encourage travel agents, primarily in Hong Kong, Macau, Japan and South Korea, to organize large groups to visit Taiwan.

With the rising number of Chinese tourists visiting the country since the beginning of the year, the Tourism Bureau recently decided to include China in the incentive program to channel more Chinese visitors to other parts of Taiwan.

Taiwan still has a daily quota of 3,000 Chinese tourist arrivals per day.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Chinese mainland, Taiwan score big progress in relations*
6 June 2009
Xinhua News Agency

During the interval of the two meetings between Hu and Wu, ARATS and SEF, two organizations authorized by the Chinese mainland and Taiwan to handle cross-Straits issues, held three rounds of talks in June 2008, November 2008 and April 2009. 

During the first two talks, the two signed agreements on weekend charter flights, tourism, direct shipping, air transport, postal services and food safety. In their latest round of talks held in in Nanjing from April 25-26, they focused on regular cross-straits flights, joint efforts on cracking down on crime, and financial cooperation. 

On Dec. 15, 2008, the Chinese mainland and Taiwan started direct air and sea transport and postal services amid warming ties, ending decades of practice that air and sea movements -- including mail -- had to go by way of a third place -- usually Hong Kong or Macao. 

Tourism to Taiwan was boosted. As of May 15, more than 300,000 mainland tourists have traveled to the island while the figure is expected to surpass 600,000 this year. 

On Dec. 31, Hu offered six proposals to promote the peaceful development of the cross-Straits relationship in a speech to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the mainland's "Message to Compatriots in Taiwan". 

Hu said the mainland is willing to discuss with Taiwan proper and reasonable arrangements for Taiwan's participation in activities of international organizations, as long as this does not create a scenario of "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan". 

In May, China's State Council announced a plan to support the development of an economic zone on the western side of the Taiwan Straits. The plan is aimed to boost development in a region led by Fujian Province and promote cooperation between the region and Taiwan. 

In the Straits Forum which opened in the southeastern coastal city of Xiamen in May, Wang Yi, director of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, announced measures aimed at expanding mainland's business investment in Taiwan. 

Wang encouraged companies to buy more Taiwan-made products, invited Taiwan businesses to take part in the mainland's construction of infrastructure and key projects, pledged to send more mainland tourists to the island, and beef up agricultural cooperation. 

Those measures also include opening up more mainland professional qualification tests to Taiwan residents and allow Taiwan's law firms to open branches in Fujian Province. 

Those measures meant that more Taiwan enterprises would benefit from the mainland's 4-trillion yuan (585.3 billion U.S. dollars) economic stimulus package. The Chinese mainland announced the package in November last year to boost domestic demand and economic growth amid global economic downturn. 

A series of economic stimulus plans put forward by the mainland has brought to the Taiwan businessmen direct benefits and market confidence. 

The past 12 months also witnessed increasing contact and mutual support between people on the two sides of the Taiwan Straits, such as the donations and contributions from Taiwan when the mainland was hit by a magnitude-8.0 earthquake last May, and contributions from Taiwan people for the success of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Taiwan cruise into history*
Hong Kong Standard
Thursday, June 11, 2009

The first mainland tour group traveling to Taiwan via Hong Kong on the city's home-ported cruise liner will sail on August 2.

Star Cruises has tailor-made a six-day, five-night itinerary in response to the new initiative announced by the central government in April to allow mainland tour groups to travel to Taiwan by taking Hong Kong-registered vessels.

Several mainland travel agents have already signed agreements with Star Cruises to organize tour groups for the voyage.

Executive vice-president William Ng Ko-yin said Star Cruises has for years been studying and exploring the feasibility of sailing to the three places across two shores. The advanced planning led to the speedy launch of the special tour.

Before cruising to Taiwan aboard the 51,039-tonne SuperStar Aquarius, guests can stop over in Hong Kong for sightseeing, dining and shopping. The six-day trip will also have stop in Tainan and Taichung before guests disembark at Keelung.

The itinerary includes tours to the Anping ancient city, Cigua Salt Mountains, Sun Moon Lake, Taipei and National Palace Museum and the landmark Taipei 101 tower. 

Mainland tourists can opt to continue their journey on land upon arriving at Keelung.

Taiwanese guests can also embark from Keelung and sail directly to Hong Kong. 

Commissioner for Tourism Margaret Fong Shun-man welcomed the new itinerary, saying it will enrich the travel experience of mainland visitors on the multi-destination trip.

"This new measure will also add impetus to Hong Kong's development as a leading regional cruise hub," she said. 

The Tourism Commission, through the Advisory Committee on Cruise Industry and other channels, is working with the Hong Kong Tourism Board and the industry to jointly formulate strategies to strengthen Hong Kong's position as a cruise hub in the Asia-Pacific region.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Taiwan, China to mark peace with cross-strait swim *
12 June 2009
Agence France Presse

One hundred swimmers from Taiwan and China will take part in a swim between the mainland and a Taiwan-held island, in a further sign of warming ties between the two sides, organisers said Friday.

Fifty swimmers from each side will swim from the southern Chinese city of Xiamen to Kinmen island on August 15, said Fu Yang-tu, a spokesman for the island's county government.

Taiwanese organisers will hold competitions starting Saturday to select the fittest swimmers for the six-kilometre (3.72 mile) event, Fu said.

The Xiamen city government, which is co-organising the activity, was expected to hold similar selections for swimmers, he said.

"The event will celebrate peace between the two sides and we hope it will also help promote tourism for Kinmen," Fu said.

Kinmen, an island on the mainland side of the 170-kilometre Taiwan strait, has been a constant reminder of lingering hostilities between the two sides since they split in 1949 at the end of a civil war.

In August 1958 the Chinese army fired more than 470,000 shells on Kinmen and several other Taiwan-held islets in a 44-day artillery bombardment that killed 618 servicemen and civilians.

Taiwan's government once had up to 120,000 troops based on Kinmen, as both a first line of defence against a possible Chinese invasion and a contingent capable of attacking the mainland.

However, ties between the rivals have improved dramatically since the Beijing-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou took office last year promising to promote reconciliation and trade links.

Officially, China still regards Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*The sparkle of closer strait links *
20 June 2009
Shanghai Daily

Closer cooperation between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan in the financial sector is expected to trigger growth in cross-strait trade and investment, industry watchers said yesterday in Shanghai.

"Now with a higher volume of cross-strait business and tourism flows, closer cooperation in different aspects is needed," Peter Yu, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Taiwan, said yesterday in Shanghai. "The closer cooperation in the financial industry is inevitable to support the growth."

Randy Ko, a PwC partner in Shanghai, said there will be more purchases from the mainland while mainland firms will be investing more actively in Taiwan over the next two years.

PwC said the two sides are also expected to cooperate in auto parts, retail, tourism and real estate in the first stage of cross-strait cooperation and investment.

Close to 800,000 tourists from the mainland are expected to visit Taiwan this year, a jump of 21.57 percent from a year ago. The occupancy rate among Taiwan hotels is set to grow 12.7 percent to 77.38 percent this year.

"Taiwan appears to be the bigger winner for now," said Sherman Chan, a Moody's Economy.com economist. "The mainland also gains from the stronger ties with benefits to be realized in the longer term."

Taiwan's expertise in technology and telecommunications can help the mainland upgrade its industrial sector.

"Efforts from the mainland alone may not be sufficient to lift the island out of the recession, but should at least help ease the pain," Chan said.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*System launched to approve Chinese travel plans *
1 July 2009
The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The Tourism Bureau's new system to approve mainland visitors' travel plans before visas can be applied for has been launched today, local media said yesterday.

Officials from the bureau said the plan is being executed with the aim of assuring the quality of Chinese tourists' traveling experience.

All travel agencies will need to submit details of the accommodation, the transportation and the assigned tour guide to the new system, officials added.

Once approved by the Bureau, the travel agencies may then apply for visitor visas for those who wish to come to Taiwan, they continued.

Officials stressed that the approval will not be given if the transportation, such as tour buses, has been running for more than ten years.

The acceptable age of the transport had been extended from seven to ten years, they said.

Officials said they believe the four most important elements for a good traveling experience include the people, accommodation, transportation and the tour guide.

Previous visitors were allowed to apply for a visa to enter Taiwan as late as a day before the actual trip but plans must be planned in advance from today.

The amount of Chinese visitors has drastically increased since March this year, while incidents of transportation shortages started to occur late April, local media said.

The Tourism Bureau is taking several measures to prevent more of these shortages from happening again.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Chinese mainland tourists make 350,000 trips to Taiwan *
3 July 2009
China Economic Review 

Tourists from Chinese Mainland have made more than 350,000 trips to Taiwan so far after the travel ban was lifted a year ago.

Du Jiang, deputy director of the National Tourism Administration, said the tourism cooperation across the strait has been vibrant and the tourists from Chinese Mainland to Taiwan has been on a steady rise.

When meeting with an official delegation from Taichung City and three central Taiwan counties Friday, Du said the two sides should complement each other with unique resources, step up tourism promotion and improve tourism services.

China View reported that the head of the delegation said that central Taiwan has abundant natural and cultural resources, and is willing to improve its infrastructure to attract more visitors from the Chinese Mainland.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*TAIWAN, CHINA OFFICIALS TO DISCUSS TOURISM ISSUES *

TAIPEI, July 13 Asia Pulse - Tourism officials from Taiwan and China will get together in Beijing in mid-July to discuss solutions to problems facing tour operators on both sides.

Janice Lai, director-general of the Tourism Bureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, said she is slated to lead a delegation of tourism officials on a visit to the Chinese capital July 17 in her capacity as chairwoman of the Taiwan Strait Tourism and Travel Association.

According to Lai, the major purpose of her upcoming visit to Beijing is to exchange views with Shao Qiwei, chairman of China's Cross-Strait Tourism Association, on ways of helping travel agencies that handle cross-strait tours on both sides to overcome their difficulties.

"The main aim is to review the problems cross-strait tour operators have been encountering and to find quick fixes for those problems, " she said. "We will focus our discussions on improving the quality of service to Chinese tourists in Taiwan rather than seeking more visitors from China to Taiwan.

"Over the past year, the relevant authorities have done their best to implement the agreements reached by the two sides to establish direct cross-strait air links and allow more Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan for sightseeing,"she said.

"However, it takes time to set up new market mechanisms," she added.

Lai predicted that the number of Chinese tourists to Taiwan will stabilize from August.

In April, Taiwan recorded an average of 3,280 Chinese tourists arrivals per day, but that number fell to 1,500 in late May and has averaged only 950 per day so far in June due to the spread of swine flu.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Taiwan to welcome 700,000 Chinese tourists this year: Ma *
14 July 2009
Agence France Presse

Up to 700,000 Chinese tourists are expected to visit Taiwan in 2009 amid improving ties between the two sides, a report here quoted President Ma Ying-jeou as saying Tuesday.

With mid-July marking the start of peak holiday season, Ma told the Commercial Times that Taiwan is set to welcome 700,000 mainlanders -- or 2,000 a day -- by year-end, citing a tourism bureau estimate.

"I believe many people would be willing to invest (in tourism) if the number can stay to 2,000," Ma said.

Taiwanese authorities in April temporarily increased the quota on Chinese visitors to 5,000 a day in response to a sharp rise in demand for the May 1 Labour Day holidays, but the number has been dropping since then.

Ma attributed the decline to June being the traditional low season, worsened by the spread of swine flu, which dissuaded some mainlanders from travelling to the island.

Some 360,000 Chinese have visited Taiwan since July 2008, after Ma's Beijing-friendly government trebled the daily quota on Chinese visitors to 3,000.

Ties with China have improved dramatically since Ma took office last year pledging to boost cross-Strait trade links and tourism.

But officially China still views the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. The two sides have been governed separately since they split after a civil war in 1949.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Chinese tourists bring in 764 million dlr to Taiwan: report *
18 July 2009
Agence France Presse

Chinese tourists have generated 764 million US dollars in revenue for Taiwan in a year, as ties rapidly improve between the formal rivals, a report here said Saturday.

Some 370,000 Chinese tourists have visited Taiwan since July 2008, after President Ma Ying-jeou's Beijing-friendly government trebled the daily quota on mainland visitors to 3,000, said the China Times.

Each mainlander spent an average 295 US dollars daily on a typical trip of approximately a week, bringing in more than 764 million US dollars in total tourism revenue for the island, the report said, citing government data.

Taiwanese authorities in April temporarily increased the quota on Chinese visitors to 5,000 a day in response to growing demand for the May 1 Labour Day holidays, but the number dropped sharply in June.

Tourism officials attributed the decline to concerns over swine flu and expected a new influx of Chinese tourists starting August to bring the total number to 600,000 by year-end, the paper said.

Ties with China have improved dramatically since Ma took office last year pledging to boost cross-Strait trade links and tourism.

Officially China still views the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. The two sides have been governed separately since they split after a civil war in 1949.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Taiwan eases curbs on tourism by individuals *
24 July 2009
South China Morning Post

Taiwan will allow individual mainland tourists who have worked in Hong Kong or Macau for at least a year to visit the island, and the scheme is expected to start as soon as next month.

The latest plan - a further step towards opening Taiwan to individual mainland tourists - is expected to generate NT$11.3 billion (HK$2.7 billion) in extra tourism revenue.

At a meeting last week, departments including the Mainland Affairs Council, the Tourism Bureau and the Interior Ministry discussed the plan to allow mainland tourists to travel to Taiwan individually rather than in tour groups.

"It was decided that mainlanders who had worked in either Hong Kong or Macau for at least one year and had valid work permits would be allowed to visit Taiwan individually," a Tourism Bureau spokeswoman said.

She said that under existing regulations, mainlanders who had worked in Hong Kong or Macau for four years could apply to visit Taiwan as individual tourists. "The Mainland Affairs Council agreed to relax the regulations to shorten the period to one year from four years."

Officials were tight-lipped over when the plan would become effective, but a person in the government close to the situation said that if everything went smoothly, such tourists could start arriving as early as next month.

Taiwan has opened up to mainland tourists since last July as part of the efforts of mainland-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou to improve cross-strait relations and increase the island's tourism revenue.

Up to 3,000 mainland tourists per day are now allowed to visit Taiwan, but they must come in groups, and only day trips are permitted. Under the new measure, there will be no restrictions on the number of visits or the length of stay for eligible individual mainland tourists who travel to the island from Hong Kong or Macau.

The estimated NT$11.3 billion - from an anticipated 300,000 extra visits - was expected to boost the tourism revenue received from mainland travellers to at least NT$36.5 billion a year, officials said.

Statistics showed that 370,000 mainland tourists had visited Taiwan in the past year, and generated NT$25.2 billion in revenue.

Tourism Bureau director general Janice Lai Seh-jen was reported to have exchanged views with mainland officials on the possibility of allowing tourists from the mainland to travel to Taiwan individually, during a roundtable talk in Beijing last Saturday.

The conversation came after Premier Liu Chao-shiuan instructed relevant authorities in Taiwan to work out a plan to allow individual mainland tourists to visit Penghu and Taiwan's other islands.

Local tourism operators said that if the government allowed all mainland tourists to travel to the island individually, business would at least double.

Because of pricing, five-star hotels and upscale restaurants in Taiwan are often excluded from the itineraries of groups organised for tourists coming directly from the mainland.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Kinmen aims to increase tourism
The county chief said that investors and property developers in Hong Kong, China and the US had expressed interest in working on the BOT project*
4 November 2009
Taipei Times

Taiwan Land Development Corp yesterday signed a 50-year build-operate-transfer (BOT) agreement with the Kinmen County Government, promising to turn the former war-torn island into an international tourism and leisure spot in five years with an initial budget of NT$3.69 billion (US$113.3 million).

"We hope that when the project is completed, it will bring in tens of billions [of New Taiwan dollars] in economic benefits to Kinmen," Kinmen County Commissioner Lee Chu-feng told a signing ceremony.

The project will create 1,500 job opportunities, more than 60 percent of which will be reserved for local residents, he said.

That excludes workers that will be employed during the project's construction, the land developer said.

The BOT project covers a 7.45 hectare lot 200m north of Kinmen Shanyi Airport, where a hotel, exhibition and conference halls, bonded warehouses, recreation and shopping malls, as well as a duty-free shop will be built starting next year and completed in three to five years.

Taiwan Land Development chairman Chiu Fu-sheng said the entire project could cost up to NT$10 billion, 50 percent of which would come from company funds and the remaining 50 percent would be raised from investors at home and abroad.

Chiu said institutional investors or property developers in Hong Kong, China and the US had expressed interest in taking part in the project. He did not elaborate, citing confidentiality.

Seven retailers, including duty-free Ever Rich DFS Corp, Hsin Tung Yang Co and local specialty shops such as Sheng Zu Food and Beverage Corp and knife manufacturer Master Wu Co, have agreed to set up outlets in the leisure district there, the developer said.

Taiwan Land Development president Andy Lai said that the soon-to-be-built hotel would be a three or five-star establishment with 300 to 500 rooms.

He estimated that the 50-year project could contribute a minimum of NT$2.4 billion in tax revenue to the county government, while potential tourism revenue could reach at least NT$2 billion per year.

If the estimated 1.7 million visitors traveling via the "small three links" - with the number forecast to rise to 2 million in two years - were to spend NT$1,000 each, the county government could get a revenue boost of NT$2 billion per year, he said.

Moreover, if 1 percent to 10 percent of 21 million tourists traveling to Xiamen, China, could extend their trip to include Kinmen at a cost of NT$10,000, the county government could further see an income of between NT$2.1 billion to NT$21 billion each year, he added.

Lee said Kinmen now attracts about 500,000 tourists per year, including 150,000 Chinese tourists since late last year, including 50,000 who stayed overnight.

High-quality kaoliang liquor, which is sold for 300 yuan (US$44) in Kinmen and 1,188 yuan in China, is popular among Chinese tourists.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Fears aside, Taiwan to allow solo Chinese tourists*

TAIPEI, July 7 (Reuters) - Taiwan plans to let tourists from China travel on their own on the island, government officials said on Wednesday, a boost to the service sector as suspicions over spying and illegal immigration fade and relations improve.

Taiwan has admitted only tightly controlled tour groups since mid-2008. From as early as the end of the year it will allow individuals from China, just 160 km (100 miles) distant, wishing to travel on their own.

An influx of tourists will boost the service sector, from listed Taiwan hotels and airlines to small shops in the countryside where groups rarely venture.

"Individual travellers can go to every corner and spend money," said Anthony Liao, standing supervisor with the Taipei Association of Travel Agents.

"They don't necessarily have to stay in star-level hotels. They can take the high-speed rail or a bus instead of coaches. They can do the night markets and the small stores, not just souvenir shops. It's an advantage to the Taiwan economy."

The Taiwan stock exchange's tourism sub-index rose 2.36 percent on anticipation of individual travellers from China.

Permitting individual tourists, even if they still must obtain travel permits, marks a new high in fast-warming relations between Taiwan and China, which claims sovereignty over the self-ruled island.

The two sides set aside differences in 2008 to work out trade and transit deals including direct flights and an agreement that allows up to 3,600 Chinese group tourists per day.

Concerns about spying and unauthorised stays on the relatively wealthy island that had long barred Chinese tourists have eased as most groups follow rules while pouring money into the service sector.

Still, Taiwan is studying a daily headcount limit on individual travellers and may initially allow them only from China's wealthier cities, tourism and news officials said.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Taiwan opened to all mainland tourists amid warming ties*
20 July 2010
SCMP

Beijing is now allowing tourists from all parts of the mainland to visit Taiwan, in a move tipped to further boost the island's tourism industry amid warming cross-strait ties.

Beginning yesterday, mainland tourists from four autonomous regions, including politically sensitive Tibet and Xinjiang, as well as Inner Mongolia and Ningxia, can join mainlanders from other provinces on group tours to Taiwan.

The new arrangement also applies to people from Gansu and Qinghai provinces, the mainland's first tourism envoy to Taiwan, Fan Guishan , said.

"With the opening of these areas, there are no more restrictions on mainland tourists who want to visit Taiwan," said Fan, who heads the mainland's first semi-official Cross-Strait Tourism Exchange Association in Taipei.

Travel to Taiwan was opened to 25 mainland provinces, municipalities and the Guangxi autonomous region after the two former rivals signed a travel co-operation agreement in July 2008.

That deal was made possible after Taiwan's mainland-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou took office that year and adopted a policy of engaging Beijing.

The two sides also agreed to swap tourism offices in May this year to deal with rapid increases in the number of travellers, and other tourism matters.

In the past two years, more than 13.3 million mainland tourists have visited the island, injecting US$2.6 billion into the Taiwanese economy, according to the association.

However, statistics released by Taiwan's tourism bureau show that between July 2008 and the end of June this year, total tourism revenue brought by all mainland tourists, including those coming from a third territory, topped US$3.45 billion.

Before the July 2008 agreement, Taiwan permitted only mainland tourists coming from a third country to visit. Since then, mainlanders have been able to visit directly, but only if they travel in groups.

The two sides are still working on the timing of allowing mainland tourists to visit Taiwan individually.

In the first six months of this year, some 673,000 mainland tourists visited the island, up 105 per cent from the same period last year, prompting Taiwanese authorities to predict that between 1.2 and 1.5 million mainland tourists will visit this year.

To cope with the influx of mainland tourists, the mainland side has agreed to increase the number of travel agencies dealing with cross-strait travel from 146 to 164.

The mainland authorities would further expand the number of agencies to speed up application procedures for travel to Taiwan, Fan said.

Aside from opening the island to mainland tourists, the two sides have also signed direct flight agreements to carry travellers, a lucrative business that has sharply increased the profits of airlines.

The two sides have each expanded their weekly flights to 135, but that has failed to meet the growing demand for cross-strait flights, leading to an agreement in May to each increase the number by 50.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Luxury resort opens at Sun Moon Lake *
27 July 2010
Central News Agency English News

Taipei, July 27 (CNA) The Wen Wan Resort at Sun Moon Lake that was built to resemble a cruise ship opened Tuesday, with tourism industry operators touting its gold-gilded "mast" and interior fittings as the latest trend in luxury accommodation.

The 92-room hotel stands 12 stories tall on the site of what was once a holiday home of the late President Chiang Kai-shek on a hill overlooking one of Taiwan's most popular tourist destinations.

At the opening ceremony, Premier Wu Den-yih read a poem that he wrote especially for the occasion.

"The natural beauty of the mountains and the lake are free, " Wu said in his Chinese-language poem, extolling the natural attractions of the Nantou County area.

The resort project was initiated by the Nantou County government and constructed on the build-operate-transfer model at a cost of NT$2.4 billion (US$74.93 million) , said County Magistrate Lee Chao-ching.

It was designed to look like a luxury clipper and its "mast" was gilded with 479.54 ounces of gold.

"Some suites are equipped with gold-gilded toilets and washbasins and prices start at US$1,000 per night, " a tour guide on a lake boat tour told the passengers.

The new resort is located on the highest point of the Hanbi Peninsula, close to the Lalu, a premium resort hotel.

"Once the new resort begins operations, it will start a trend for luxury tourism at Sun Moon Lake," Harbor Resort Hotel General Manager Liu Chih-fan forecast.

Sun Moon Lake is one of the fastest growing tourism areas in Taiwan, particularly since Taiwan eased its restrictions on tourism from China.

According to statistics from the the Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area Administration, 720,000 Chinese tourists visited the area in the first half of this year, which was more than the number for the whole of 2009. The number is expected to exceed 1.2 million this year, said Tseng Kuo-chi, head of the administration.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Taiwanese wary about China amid warming ties*
Associated Press
30 July 2010

TAIPEI, Taiwan – In the crowded Taipei theater, Eddy Fang laughs politely at the Chinese ensemble's comic references to jealous husbands and overweight wives but can't help thinking it's all a bit lowbrow in relatively sophisticated Taiwan.

The performance by the Zhao Benshan troupe from Liaoning province ostensibly aims to bring the Chinese and Taiwanese closer culturally and overcome the love-hate relationship they have shared for decades.

But the crude comedy "underscores more of our cultural differences than our similarities," observes Fang, a 36-year-old office worker in Taipei, the capital of the island that broke away from China 61 years ago.

Despite China's efforts to win over local hearts and hasten the return of the island to mainland control, the cultural gap between the two peoples remains as large as the 100-mile (160-kilometer) wide Taiwan Strait that separates the two sides.

In the two years since Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou took office, relations between the once bitter enemies have warmed considerably, sparked by a sharp uptick in commercial initiatives — including last month's landmark trade deal — and China's soft pedaling of its long-standing threats to take over Taiwan by force.

Rather than calling attention to the estimated 1,300 missiles now aimed at Taiwanese targets, Beijing is resorting to a well-modulated charm offensive led by free spending tourists, freer spending purchasing missions and entertainment ensembles like the Zhao Benshan.

But the closer ties and the attempts by Beijing to play up both sides' common cultural history may actually highlight the ways the island and mainland have grown apart in their decades of postwar separation.

Taiwanese artist Su Hui-yu, 34, insists the island's 23 million people don't identify culturally with the mainland — despite their common language — because 50 years of Japanese colonial rule and another six decades of political separation has created a distinct Taiwanese identity.

"In Taiwan, you can see traces of the Chinese culture," Su said. "But unlike China's continent-based culture, Taiwan has a young, ocean-based culture, which is more adaptable and open to all foreign influences."

Su noted Taiwanese authorities have switched to using an ultramodern Taipei skyscraper as a symbol of the island, dropping the long-used image of the National Palace Museum — the celebrated Taipei repository of Chinese art, whose contents were spirited to Taiwan in 1948 and 1949 by Chiang Kai-shek's retreating Nationalist forces.

"Young Taiwanese see the museum's artifacts as Chinese, not Taiwanese," he said.

Thirty four-year-old tour guide Tai Kai-lin identified another aspect of the cultural gap between Chinese and Taiwanese — the tendency of some mainlanders to be less cultivated and polite than their island cousins, who pride themselves on their good manners and restrained behavior.

"All they bring here is their litter and their spittle," said Tai, referring to the tendency of some mainland visitors to expectorate freely during their visits to Taiwanese landmarks.

Recent college graduate Quentin Hu, 24, says all that's unimportant because of the considerable economic benefits the Chinese visitors are bringing to the island. Government statistics show that in 2009, 953,000 mainland tourists spent $1.13 billion and accounted for 0.49 percent of Taiwan's GDP. Expectations are that the number of tourist arrivals could grow by as much as 25 percent this year.

"In the long run mainland visitors will boost our service industry and economy substantially and everyone here will benefit from that," Hu said. "So I don't mind some of the minor inconveniences they bring."

Hu's comments were echoed by freelance writer Jean Chiu, 52, who said initiatives like last year's government decision to end a long-standing ban on advertising by Chinese companies will deepen understanding between the sides, despite charges that some Taiwanese publications might slant their treatment of China to gain ads from mainland firms.

"Our media are heavy with China coverage because people need to know more about the mainland," she said. "We don't have to worry too much."

But many Taiwanese do worry. Their belief that Beijing is camouflaging the true purpose of its cultural exchanges and touristic onslaught — bringing the island into its fold — may have led them to focus on the cultural differences between the two sides and fed the desire to keep a separate Taiwanese identity. 

Opinion polls remain split on how friendly Chinese intentions toward Taiwan really are, but all show a continuing resistance to accepting Chinese control, the ultimate aim of Beijing's Taiwan policy for the past six decades. 

"The Chinese are more friendly lately, but with a political purpose," said Fang, the theatergoer. 

Bao Guozhong, a tour operator from Fujian's capital of Fuzhou on the mainland, doesn't see what all the fuss is about. 

"We have the same roots and should get along well," he said. 

___ 

Associated Press Writer Debby Wu contributed to this report from Taipei.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*TAIWAN-CHINA TRAVEL FAIR HOSTS RECORD VISITORS BUT MISSES TARGET*
17 August 2010

TAIPEI, Aug 17 Asia Pulse - A travel fair in Taipei that hosted a record number of participating Chinese travel agents failed at its close Monday to reach the organizers' goal for the total number of visitors over its four-day run.

A total of 118,003 people visited the Taipei Cross-Strait Travel Fair, a number that fell short of the organizers' original target of 150,000 visitors.

This year also marks the first time Chinese exhibitors will not attend the Taipei International Travel Fair slated to take place Nov. 5-8 this year, after taking part in the fair organized by the Taiwan Visitors Association (TVA) and the Beijing-based Cross-Strait Tourism Association.

TVA spokeswoman Chen Ying-ting blamed the upcoming start of the new school semester for the poorer- than-expected turnout.

"As the summer vacation is coming to an end, not many families have further travel plans," she told CNA in a telephone interview.

"Some parents might also be looking to save money to pay for tuition as the schools open next month," Chen added.

"So although many big discounts were offered at the fair, many people were still not attracted," she said.

The organizers of the show said that in an effort to boost visitor numbers in future, they are considering moving the fair to June next year.

A record of nearly 1,200 representatives from 190 tourism associations or travel agencies throughout China took part in the fair, the organizers added, saying that a total of 871 booths were manned, including 516 by Taiwanese exhibitors.

Chen lauded the Chinese exhibitors for adopting different promotion tactics this year.

"This year, their booths were better designed. They also put on folk songs, dances and martial arts performances," she noted.

Despite their tactics, however, the Chinese exhibitors apparently failed to compete with their Taiwanese counterparts in attracting visitors to their booths, as the majority of visitors lined up for discounted dining coupons offered by some of the Taiwanese exhibitors, mainly local major hotels.

Another favorite among the visitors was the Taiwan agricultural pavilion, consisting of 250 booths offering tea, dried fruit, nut cookies, grilled sausages, dried squid and other well-known local delicacies.

Asked whether the Chinese exhibitors were dissatisfied with the turnouts at their booths, Chen said they actually had better turnouts than they had enjoyed for the past four years, but she did not provide specific figures.

"This year, they also learned from their Taiwanese counterparts how best to cater to local visitors, and will probably follow suit next year," she added.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*CHINA STILL MULLING ENTRY OF TAIWAN TOURISTS: OFFICIAL*
16 August 2010

TAIPEI, Aug 16 Asia Pulse - China will allow individuals to visit Taiwan for tourism purposes when the conditions are right, a visiting tourism official from China said Saturday.

Shao Qiwei, director of China's National Tourism Administration and head of the Cross-Strait Tourism Association (CSTA), said that China will seek to revise the relevant regulations on the basis of a "gradual opening" policy.

"The CSTA will consult with its Taiwanese counterpart, the Taiwan Strait Tourism Association (TSTA), and will select suitable cities to start allowing visits by individual tourists when the time and conditions are right," he said.

Shao said the move will be in line with world trends, and will help to enhance people-to-people exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

The regulations on both sides would need to be revised, he said, noting that currently tourists from China are only allowed to visit Taiwan in groups.

Shao was at a roundtable meeting in Hsinchu on cross-strait tourism exchanges, which was chaired jointly by him and Taiwan's Tourism Bureau Director-General Janice Lai. More than 100 tourism officials and representatives across the Taiwan Strait attended the meeting.

Shao said that two years after the easing of restrictions on visits by Chinese tourists to Taiwan, cross-strait tourism is still in the budding stage.

However, with the June 29 signing of a cross-strait trade deal, known as the economic cooperation framework agreement, bilateral economic cooperation has entered a historic new stage, he said.

Shao also said that he will push for bilateral tourism investment and that both sides should compile a priority list for such investment.

In response, Lai said that because of the difference in market sizes on both sides, "the travel agent sector cannot be liberalized." Meanwhile, China Tourism Academy's president Dai Bin said that Fujian province, which has the highest volume of exchanges with Taiwan, would be the best choice to begin allowing individual visits to Taiwan.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Majority of Taiwan's Outbound Tours Go to Mainland China in First 8 Months*

Taipei, Sept. 28, 2010 (CENS)--Statistics recently released by the Ministry of the Interior shows 56.6% of the 6.8 million outbound trips made by Taiwan citizens in the first eight months this year were destined for mainland China (including Hong Kong and Macau) as their first leg.

The statistics show that the aggregate number of inbound and outbound travelers came to 20.1 million in the first eight months of the year, up 21.6% from the same period of last year.

Taiwan's citizens accounted for 6.8 million of the 10 million outbound travelers while mainland Chinese citizens (including citizens from Hong Kong and Macau) constituted around 45% of the 3.6 million entries made by non-Taiwan citizens.

The 6.8 million outbound trips made by Taiwanese people included 1.59 million trips to the mainland, 1.61 million trips to Hong Kong and 470,000 trips to Macau. Around 14.7% of the trips were destined for Japan while only 5.1% made the United States the destination.

Japanese tourists accounted for 19.2% of the inbound trips made by non-Taiwan citizens in the first eight months this year, followed by 7.4% made by U.S. citizens.

Officials with the Ministry of the Interior pointed out that the 1.08 million tourist arrivals from mainland China in the first eight months represented an increase of 460,000 from the same period of last year while the 530,000 Taiwan-bound trips by Hong Kong and Macau travelers represented an annual e of some 30,000 trips.

Director General S.J. Lai of Tourism Bureau estimated the number of tourist arrivals from all over the world to cross 5.2 million people this year, the highest number since Taiwan started the record.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Chinese visitors attributed to Palace Museum's souvenir sales growth*
8 October 2010

Taipei, Oct. 8 (CNA) Sales of the National Palace Museum's souvenir shop grew 10 percent in the first week of October compared with the same periods of August and September, the general manager of the museum's souvenir department said Friday.

Ho Chun-huan told CNA that although the number of Chinese tourists who visited the museum in the Oct. 1-7 period -- the long national day holiday called "golden week" in China -- did not appear to be an obvious rise from the previous two months, souvenir sales were up.

Most of the tourists spent between NT$1,400 (US$45.27) and NT$1,500 on souvenirs at the museum in the week-long period, higher than the NT$1,000-NT$1,200 they spent in August and September, she said.

One of the tourists spent a whopping NT$1.06 million in a single day, making him the biggest spender the store has seen since Taiwan opened its doors in 2008 to tourists from China, Ho said.

The National Palace Museum was one of five most popular tourist destinations in Taiwan among Chinese visitors during the week-long holiday, behind Sun Moon Lake in Nantou County, the Taipei 101 building and Sizihwan Bay in Kaohsiung City, according to the Tourism Bureau.

However, shops and vendors in the Sun Moon Lake scenic area said nothing had changed during the week, with no discernible increase in the number of Chinese visitors.

Tea egg vendor Chou Chin-pen complained of low business throughout the holiday, especially in the last three days.

"We were so idle we could fall asleep in the daytime," she said.

According to statistics compiled by the Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area Administration, Chinese tourist arrivals in the first week of October were not as numerous as expected.

As of the end of September, the number of Chinese visitors to Sun Moon Lake had reached nearly 840,000 people, which breaks down to 3,100 per day, the administration said.

The peak for arrivals was in April and May, with a daily average of 4,756 Chinese visitors per day, it said.

In comparison, the golden week tallies reached only 3,169 people per day, it added.

China is one of Taiwan's biggest sources of tourists. In 2009, 560,000 Chinese people visited the country, while the first seven months of the year saw 740,000 Chinese tourist arrivals, according to Tourism Bureau statistics.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Taiwan to allow more mainland tourists next year*

TAIPEI, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Taiwan will increase the number of mainland Chinese tourists allowed to visit to 4,000 a day from next year and expects to welcome individual visitors by June, in the latest sign of warming ties between the rivals.

The increase in the daily quota from 3,000 will take effect as soon as Jan. 1, the government said on Tuesday during the latest round of trade talks in Taipei.

Taiwan's top negotiator later told reporters that individuals from the mainland would likely be allowed to visit by June, at the latest. People from the mainland can now only visit on group tours.

"The sooner the better," the negotiator, P. K. Chiang, said. "We had hoped to open Taiwan to individual tourists around February, but the Chinese side said that was too soon."

The mainland and the island have been rivals since China's civil war in the late 1940s. China sees self-ruled Taiwan as a renegade province which must be reunited with the mainland.

But economic relations have expanded in recent years and ties are at their best in 60 years following the signing of a trade pact this year that lifted tariffs on thousands of items. 

Taiwan's government sees better China trade as key to the export-dependent island's economic security, while Beijing is hoping strong economic ties will lead to political agreement with the island.

About 1.3 million Chinese nationals visited Taiwan in the first 10 months of this year and China is surpassing Japan as the island's biggest source of visitors.

Taiwan's tourism stocks have surged this year on hopes for more mainland tourists. The sub-index has risen about 30 percent this year, well ahead of the benchmark index which is up about 7 percent.

The two sides also signed a medical and healthcare cooperation agreement on Tuesday, but in a sign that some tension remains, have put off an investment protection pact for further discussion after failing to agree on measures for dispute resolution.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Published on ShanghaiDaily.com (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/)
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=460624&type=Metro

*City to trial individual tourist trips to Taiwan*
Created: 2011-1-4 0:27:08

INDIVIDUAL tourists, not traveling with an organized group, are expected to be able to travel to Taiwan from Shanghai and Beijing in April.

Local travel companies have already started designing packages in preparation.

Taiwan opened to Chinese mainland tourists in 2008, but visitors were required to travel in organized groups.

But now, according to China Times, a Taiwan local newspaper, the mainland and the island have reached an agreement that the two cities will trial individual trips.

It is expected that 500 independent tourists will make the journey to Taiwan daily, where they can stay for up to 15 days. The first are likely to set off on April 5, the Qingming Festival, reported the newspaper.

Mainland tourism authorities, however, have not confirmed the news.

Shanghai travel service companies said individual tours will mainly appeal to young people, attracted by the leisure options in Taiwan.

"We're thinking of 'air-and-hotel' packages that let tourists design their itinerary themselves," said Zhou Yingfeng, deputy general manager of Shanghai CYTS Tours.

Travel agencies are also designing short tours in which visitors can take in a live show or explore the countryside.

Since Taiwan opened to mainland tourists in 2008, most tourists making the trip have been middle-aged people or seniors, many to visit relatives who they haven't seen for decades.

The most popular option has been an around-the-island package, lasting from six to eight days.

In 2009, the mainland and Taiwan began discussing individual tours, and late last year reports emerged that Taiwan was expected to accept business travelers this year.

Last year, around 1.6 million mainland tourists went to Taiwan, and the number is expected to reach 2 million this year, according to the China Tourism Administration.

Meanwhile, chilly weather made Shanghai residents reluctant to venture out of the city over the New Year holiday, tour company officials said. The Shanghai Sightseeing Tour Bus Center reported that around 4,000 people took trips to outlying areas or neighboring provinces through the center - down 23 percent from last year.

"The cold weather was to blame," said Shen Li, an official with the center. "The mercury was too low, so people stayed at home."

Officials said "wish-making" tours were the most popular. Many people went to Putuo Mountain in Zhejiang Province or to the Lingshan Buddha in Jiangsu Province to make New Year wishes.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*CHINESE TOURIST ARRIVALS IN TAIWAN HIT 1.16MLN IN 2010: TSTA*

SHANGHAI, Jan 17 Asia Pulse - A total of 1.16 million Chinese tourists visited Taiwan last year, according to statistics compiled by the Taipei-based Taiwan Strait Tourism Association (TSTA).

The association was set up by the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to promote Taiwan tourism in China.

Yang Ruey-tzong, director of the association's Beijing office, said Sunday that of the arrivals, 186,000 were from Guangdong Province, 182,000 were from Zhejiang Province and 103,000 came from Jiangsu Province, indicating that people living in coastal China were more likely to visit Taiwan as tourists.

The three provinces were followed by the cities of Beijing and Shanghai, which accounted for 89,000 and 84,000 tourist arrivals, respectively.

In light of the increasing number of Chinese interested in touring Taiwan, Yang said, his office was planning to stage a briefing session for Shanghai's tourism industry the following day.

He added that he and his staff will also visit other provinces to promote Taiwan tourism.

Yang said he plans to introduce the Official Taiwan Lantern Festival that will take place this year in Miaoli County, central Taiwan, in which a delegation from Yangzhou in Jiangsu Province will participate.

Taiwan is also sending a group to participate in Yangzhou's lantern show in late January in a reciprocal move, he noted.

Later in 2011, Yang went on, the TSTA will hold activities in Beijing and Shanghai highlighting Taiwan's catering service, in which famous Taiwanese chefs will show off their skills.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Mon, Jan 24, 2011 
Taipei Times
*Inbound, outbound travel figures reach highest levels ever*
Staff Writer, with CNA

A record high of almost 30 million people traveled to or from Taiwan last year, 19.5 percent more than in 2009, government statistics released over the weekend showed.

The latest statistics released by the Ministry of the Interior showed inbound passengers totaled 14,980,936 last year, a 19.72 percent increase from 2009, while outbound passengers totaled 14,909,299, an annual increase of 19.27 percent.

Both the arrival and departure figures were historical highs.

The combined 29,890,235 arrivals and departures were 19.5 percent more than a year earlier.

Ministry officials attributed the increase to an economic recovery and a jump in cross--Taiwan Strait travel following the relaxation of restrictions on Chinese tourists from the middle of 2008.

Since Taiwan conditionally opened its doors to some groups of tourists from China in 2002, the number of tourists from there visiting Taiwan has grown steadily.

In terms of travelers’ nationalities, Taiwanese accounted for 63 percent of the total outbound and inbound travel, while Chinese nationals (including Hong Kong and Macau residents) made up 15.4 percent. Individuals from other countries accounted for the remaining 21.5 percent.

Some 5.57 million foreign passengers entered Taiwan last year, with 43.6 percent of them coming from China (including Hong Kong and Macau), 19.4 percent from Japan, 7.1 percent from the US and 5.1 percent coming from Malaysia, ministry figures showed.

About 57 percent of the 9.42 million outbound trips made by Taiwanese began with travel to China, while 14.6 percent went to Japan on the first leg of their trips.

About 4.6 percent flew to the US and 4.3 percent traveled to South Korea.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Taiwan proposes allowing solo tourists from China*

TAIPEI, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Taiwan has proposed that up to 500 mainland Chinese a day can visit the island as individual tourists, as the two sides look to deepen their burgeoning economic relationship.

Government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Tuesday individual visitors would be limited to stays of up to 15 days. The quota would be in addition to an existing limit of 4,000 mainland tourists per day allowed on group tours.

Though still politically sensitive, opening up to individual tourists is the next stage in boosting economic ties between the two political rivals, whose relations have reached the best in 60 years since the signing of a landmark trade deal last year.

Mainland tour groups accounted for 1.63 million visitors in 2010, up 68 percent from the previous year, and for the first time the number of mainland tourists exceeded those from Japan, which for decades has been Taiwan's biggest source of visitors.

Taiwan's tourism shares sub-index has risen some 30 percent in the last year on hopes of an influx of free-spending mainland tourists, and a string of luxury hotels have opened up or are under construction on the island to meet expected demand.

The officials said China had yet to express an opinion on Taiwan's proposal. But they did not rule out the possibility of an increase to the proposed number.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Wed, Jan 26, 2011
Taipei Times
*Kaohsiung mayor defends policies on PRC tourists*
By Flora Wang / Staff Reporter

Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) yesterday defended her government’s policies to attract Chinese tourists and said Kaohsiung was preparing itself for independent Chinese travelers.

Chen said on the floor of the Greater Kaohsiung City Council that the city had been drawing up itineraries for independent Chinese travelers.

“The city is always happy to greet visitors from China,” Chen said.

Taiwan and China have been negotiating to allow independent travelers from China to visit Taiwan. Currently Chinese visitors are only permitted to visit by joining tour groups.

Chen’s defense came after criticism from local tourism industry representatives and Council Speaker — Hsu Kun-yuan (許崑源) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) — that the city government had not made sufficient effort to attract Chinese tourists or launched a campaign in China to promote Greater Kaohsiung.

The representatives visited Hsu at the council on Monday, urging Hsu to help bring more Chinese tourists to the city.

During the meeting, Hsu accused the city government of being blinded by political ideology and failing to compete for Chinese tourists.

The speaker lashed out at the city government over the fact that the city will only have six cross-strait charter flights during the Lunar New Year holidays.

Hsu said he was willing to step up and promote Kaohsiung, along with other KMT city councilors.

“We need to let Chinese nationals know that Kaohsiung residents are friendly,” Hsu said, adding that he would urge the central government to hold the eighth round of cross-strait talks in Kaohsiung.

Chen yesterday said she had previously told Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) that she was dissatisfied with the limited number of cross-strait charter flights to and from Kaohsiung.

Chen said the city’s Tourism Bureau director, Chen Sheng-shan (陳盛山), had just returned to Kaohsiung after concluding a promotional trip to Beijing and Hong Kong.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Decision on Chinese tourists could be made next month*
Taipei Times Staff Writer, with CNA
Sun, Feb 27, 2011

A major decision may be made on a proposal to allow Chinese tourists to travel to Taiwan independently when representatives from Taiwan and China meet next month to discuss the issue, Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau said yesterday.

The bureau made the comment after Shao Qiwei (邵琪偉), director of China’s National Tourism Administration, announced in Taipei last week that citizens from pilot Chinese cities would be allowed to travel to Taiwan independently from the second quarter of this year.

“Shao’s visit has greatly enhanced mutual understanding between Taiwan and China on an unofficial basis,” Chief Secretary of Tourism Chang Shi-chung (張錫聰) said.

Shao arrived in Taiwan on Feb. 22 as the head of a Chinese delegation for a one-week visit to promote broader cross-strait tourism links.

Chang declined to discuss a timetable for negotiations on Taiwan’s broadening of its tourism policy, saying only that it was likely to be based on the consensus reached during the sixth round of talks between Taiwan and China last December.

At present, Chinese tourists are only permitted to enter Taiwan as members of tour groups, with a limit of 4,000 tourists per day.

According to earlier reports, Taiwan may set a ceiling of 500 independent Chinese tourists per day when the proposal takes effect.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Finding common ground with Chinese tourists*
The China Post Staff
26 February 2011
The China Post

In the past decade Hong Kong and Macau have benefited substantially from mainland Chinese policies of letting an increasing number of tourists into the two cities. Many believed that mainland tourists were part of the contributors that helped lift Hong Kong's economy out of the abyss following the 2003 SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) crisis. Mainland travelers, especially high rollers, are the main source of income for casinos in Macau, which has surpassed Las Vagas to become the world's biggest gambling center.

In recent months, however, the two cities were dealing with the side effects of playing host to one of the richest groups of tourists in the world. The clashes between tour guides and visitors in Hong Kong and Macau offer good examples for Taiwanese tour agencies and tourism-related businesses as they are gearing up for the increasing number of individual mainland tourists.

Two Chinese tourists went to court with a Hong Kong tour guide over a brawl that broke out after the Chinese said they were forced to buy items from a jewelry shop during their trip.

It is a common practice among travel agencies to offer extremely cheap, sometimes even free, packages to tourists with the condition that they will visit places such as jewelry, Chinese artifact or herb shops. The agencies then earn commissions from the shops according to the purchases made.

Tour guides generally do not actually “force” people to purchase items in these places but tourists can expect to spend a lot of time, sometimes hours on end, at these “shopping stops.” Arguments often stem from the differences between visitors who are bored by these non-sightseeing trips or feel cheated, and the tour guides who insist to the clients that these stops are part of the deal.

In theory the solution to this problem is straightforward. After all, it is not difficult for people to understand that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Many no doubt half expect these “mandatory” shop visits when they sign up for the cheap trips. In fact, such practices are not reserved only for Hong Kong and can be seen in many Chinese tour packages. To even make it more clear, regulations can be made to demand tour agencies to clearly notify their clients on the number and length of shopping stops in their trips.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*CHINA PITCHES 'FASTER, DEEPER' CROSS-STRAIT TOURISM DEVELOPMENT *
24 February 2011

TAIPEI, Feb 24 Asia Pulse - China's top tourism official on Wednesday envisioned a future where 5 million tourists from China would visit Taiwan each year and urged the two sides' tourism sectors to move in that direction.

Shao Qiwei, head of China's National Tourism Administration, said at the opening of a conference in Taipei on cross-Taiwan Strait tourism that cooperation in the sector should "go deeper and move faster, " even with Chinese visitor arrivals setting a record high 1.63 million in 2010.

Describing the tourist pool in China as "extremely sufficient, " Shao asked the audience to consider the possibilities if one-tenth of China's 1.3 billion population, or 130 million people, wanted to visit Taiwan for pleasure.

"Based on 5 million visits per year, it would take 26 years to have all of those people travel to Taiwan," Shao said.

Also, 25,000 round-trip cross-strait flights would be needed to transport those travelers every year if the average flight's capacity is 200 passengers, he said.

Shao contended that having 5 million Chinese tourists visit Taiwan was not beyond the realm of possibility, because while most Chinese visitors at present were middle or upper income earners, many lower-income people were also saving up for a trip to Taiwan.

He said he hoped Taiwan and China would expand and deepen cooperation in all tourism-related fields, including recreational agriculture, travel product manufacturing and tour services.

The tourism official, in Taiwan for a week-long visit at the head of a delegation composed of over 400 officials and travel agency executives, did not mention the issue of allowing independent Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan.

But at a welcoming party the previous day, Shao said his office would try to push for the highly anticipated program by the second quarter of the year and open it to Beijing and Shanghai residents on a trial basis "in order to be prepared for a further opening, " Shao said.

At present, Chinese tourists are only permitted to enter Taiwan as members of tour groups.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Trial for individual tours to Taiwan*
8 March 2011
Shanghai Daily

Tourists from China's mainland will be able to make their own way to Taiwan later this year when pilot trials of individual travel to the island from the mainland begin.

At present, mainland tourists have to go as part of an organized tour.

Shanghai and Beijing will be the two cities taking part in the trials, which are due to begin in the second quarter of this year, Shao Qiwei, director of the National Tourism Administration, said yesterday.

Shao said that higher income groups would take part at first and then the market would be expanded to more people.

Shanghai travel agencies said they had begun to design individual packages, mainly targeting the better off.

They said flight tickets and room charges for individuals would be higher than those for groups, and tourists should be prepared to pay about 25 to 30 percent more for the packages.

"An eight-day trip to Taiwan costs about 6,000 yuan (US$857) for group travelers, and the same trip, with the same dining and accommodation standard, would cost 8,000 to 9,000 yuan for individuals," said Wang Yan, general manager of Shanghai Airlines International Travel Service Co Ltd. "But, of course, self-service travelers will be able to choose hotels which are suitable for their budget."

Since the Taiwan-bound tourist market opened to tourists from the Chinese mainland in 2008, most visitors have been middle-aged or elderly, travel agencies said. Young people showed less interest in the island.

That meant most Taiwan packages at present were "round-island" trips geared to older people, allowing tourists to visit several cities over a week.

That may change with the opening up of individual travel.

Agencies said packages for individual tourists would be more flexible. Usually they would be around four to five days, and designed for those with specific aims, such as honeymoon couples or pop music fans going to concerts.

Last year, nearly 1.23 million tourists from the mainland visited Taiwan, more than double 2009's figure. Taiwan-bound group tours are available to tourists from all 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities on the mainland.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Leofoo Tourism to strengthen facilities to expand business*
17 March 2011
Taipei Times

Leofoo Tourism Group, which owns hotels, theme parks, movie theaters and bakeries, aims to strengthen facilities to boost business this year, company executives said yesterday.

The conglomerate intends to spend NT$350 million (US$11.8 million) establishing a water theme park adjacent to Leofoo Village Theme Park in Hsinchu County that is to start operations in the summer, Leofoo Group chief operating officer Lulu Chuang told reporters.

TOURISM

The group is upbeat about the tourism industry as it may see an increase in both domestic and Chinese tourists this year amid the continued economic recovery, she said.

Leofoo also plans to invest another NT$420 million renovating the Westin Taipei to make the five-star hotel more appealing to upscale customers.

The group will also open a new bakery, Elite Concept, on the 88th floor of Taipei 101, a must-see spot among Chinese tourists, marketing director Dennis Liu said.

REBOUND

The groups revenue jumped 15.8 percent last year from a year earlier after the local tourism industry emerged from the global financial crisis, Liu said, declining to give a forecast.

Looking ahead, Leofoo expects a joint credit card venture with Chinatrust Commercial Bank to generate NT$500 million in revenue this year, Liu said. Cardholders can enjoy discounts at various Leofoo businesses.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Drop in Japanese visitors hurts tourism *
Tourism officials are hoping that an influx of Chinese tourists once restrictions on cross-strait visitor are lifted would make up for the drop in Japanese tourists
17 March 2011
Taipei Times

The hospitality sector has seen falling room occupancy rates because of fewer Japanese travelers in the wake of the massive earthquake and tsunami on Friday, while travel agents acted quickly to adjust their business plans to minimize losses.

Leofoo Tourism Group, which operates The Westin Taipei, Leofoo Hotel and Leofoo Resort, saw the number of foreign guests falling 15 percent in the wake of Japans powerful earthquake on Friday, chief operating officer Lulu Chuang said yesterday at a media gathering.

The disaster dealt a heavy blow to Leofoo Hotel because Japanese tourists account for 42 percent of its occupancy rate, Chuang said, adding that about 10 percent canceled reservations over the weekend and on Monday.

Another 5 percent of US and European guests changed plans to visit Taiwan, citing radiation concerns, Chaung said.

The worry, while reflecting a lack of information about the nuclear crisis in Japan, may wreak havoc on the hospitality industry here, Chuang said, calling on the government to help defuse the jitters.

Formosa International Hotels Corp, the nations biggest listed hotel operator, said yesterday it foresaw a drop of 6 percent in room occupancy rate this month, impacted by the cancellations from Japanese clients, which account for 38 percent of its total clientele.

The impact of cancelations from Japanese customers is still within control, Ellen Chang, Formosa Regent Taipei public relations director, said by telephone. We have launched contingency plans to attract guests from Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau to offset the drop in Japanese clients.

Luckily, Chang said, 80 percent of Formosa Regents Japanese guests are business travelers and they are still going ahead with their business trips to Taiwan.

Executives of Taipei's Grand Hotel and Ambassador Hotel said they expected the situation to worsen in the coming months.

The Tourism Bureau yesterday estimated a 20 percent decline in Japanese visitors over the coming three months, or more than NT$1 billion (US$33.9 million) in lost income, Tourism Bureau Deputy Director-General Wayne Liu said.

Last year, 1.08 million Japanese people visited Taiwan, making Japan the second-largest source of tourists after China, he said.

The ripple effect from Japans earthquake has also been closely monitored by the local travel -industry owing to heightened concerns over the possibility of wider radiation leaks, a vice general manager of a major travel agency said on condition of anonymity yesterday.

Many travel agencies organized cherry-blossoms sightseeing trips to Japan for later this month and early next month, and the cancellations from customers have been non-stop for the past few days, she said.

The impact is very huge, she said. The industry cant put a loss figure to the impact just yet, but what we can say is that it is significant.

The Kaohsiung Association of Travel Agents said on Tuesday that its members were focusing on Chinese tourists, many of whom canceled travel plans to Japan.

Ma Yi-lung, chairman of the association, said more than 90 percent of people in Kaohsiung who purchased Tokyo tour packages arriving before March 21 have canceled their reservations. Even those planning to travel to the island of Okinawa, more than 1,500km away from Tokyo, have called off their plans, he added.

Overall, Taiwans hospitality stocks saw their share prices plunge for the third day yesterday, although at a less severe rate. Shares have gone down 12.1 percent over the past few days, the Taiwan Stock Exchanges data showed.

Formosa International closed down 4.6 percent at NT$416.5, after dipping by the 7 percent daily limit on Monday and Tuesday. Ambassador Hotel, which also nosedived 7 percent in the first two days of the week, was down 0.5 percent at NT$38.8 yesterday.

Phoenix Tours International, the only travel company that is listed on the GRETAI Securities Market, dropped 1.7 percent to NT$64.5. Its stock was also down by the daily limit for the earlier two days. To offset the losses, Ma said Kaohsiung travel agents hoped Taiwans plan to open its doors to independent Chinese tourists between next month and May would attract more Chinese tourists.

Taipeis hotel managers said they have already begun a campaign to attract more domestic customers, as well as travelers from China and Southeast Asian nations.

Kinger Lau, executive director at Goldman Sachs Group Ltd, said yesterday the brokerage has an overweight view on Taiwans tourism sector, because the decreasing tourists from Japan would be offset by increases in Chinese tourists.

Tourists from China became the biggest driver for Taiwans tourism sector last year, accounting for 29 percent of all travelers to Taiwan, compared with 19 percent from Japan.

Chinese tourists will keep growing this year because of the release of the Chinese Independent Visitors Scheme (CIVS), possibly starting from next month, Lau said at a press conference in Taipei.

The rising spending of Chinese visitors would offset the decreasing tourists from Japan, driving up the tourism sectors earnings and valuations, Lau said.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA AND AFP


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Fri, Feb 10, 2012 
*Taiwan to allow individual tourists from more cities*
Taipei Times with CNA

Taiwan will open its doors to individual tourists from eight more Chinese cities, but the daily quota is not likely to increase, the Tourism Bureau said yesterday.

After a two-day meeting between the Taipei-based Taiwan Strait Tourism Association and the Beijing-headquartered Cross-Strait Tourism Association that started on Wednesday in Hong Kong, the bureau said new measures for the Free Independent Traveler (FIT) program remain under discussion.

The program, which was launched in June last year, allows up to 500 independent travelers per day from Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen to visit Taiwan.

According to bureau statistics, an average of 184 Chinese nationals per day have taken advantage of the program since the agreement took effect.

Despite declining to reveal the names of the eight cities, Tourism Bureau Deputy Director-General David Hsieh (謝勤益) said those with more developed economies and established travel industries were more likely to get picked to be included in the program.

Mainland Affairs Council spokesman Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) said after the meeting that differences remained over which cities to include, so more discussions were needed.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Thu, Feb 09, 2012 
*Medical tourism operators push for integrated approach*
Taipei Times with CNA

Medical tourism providers are pushing for a more integrated strategy to lure potential customers from China as the effect of a policy that allows independent Chinese travelers to visit the country has so far been limited.

Sammy Yen, general manager of Lion Travel’s medical tourism unit, said the travel industry has been trying to develop more comprehensive medical tourism packages through closer cooperation to win over high-end customers because a business model based on quantity is not likely to work.

“We used to have high hopes for the free independent traveler [FIT] program,” he said. “But we have overestimated its benefits.”

Yen was referring to a policy that began in June last year, when Taiwan opened its doors to tourists from certain Chinese cities to visit Taiwan without having to join a tour group or be accompanied by a tour guide.

While some healthcare institutions that provide comprehensive physical checkups had expected the FIT program to bring them at least 3,000 Chinese visitors seeking medical services last year, Yen said the actual number was about 1,500.

According to statistics from the National Immigration Agency, 30,281 Chinese visitors came through the program from June to December last year, far short of the industry’s expectations, since the quota was set to allow up to 500 visitors per day. As a result, Yen and fellow medical tourism providers said they would have to launch more upscale services to establish the brand and publicize what they have on offer.

Meanwhile, Yen said the industry has also been working much more closely with government agencies, discussing ways to improve Taiwan’s competitiveness in the field.

“We don’t want to see the Council of Agriculture promoting their organic food here and the Tourism Bureau celebrating a hot spring festival there,” Yen said. “We want the government to send an integrated message that Taiwan is one of the best travel destinations to heal your body and soul.”


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Updated Saturday, January 14, 2012 0:03 am TWN
The China Post 
*Heated election fever cools Chinese tourism*

The number of mainland Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan has decreased because the Chinese government wants to avoid putting tourists at risk from potential “accidents” that could happen during the election season, and also to avoid occupying the plane tickets that would enable Taiwanese businessmen to return home for the big day, according to a travel agent.

Many tourist attractions, including Alishan, Sun Moon Lake, the National Palace Museum, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Shilin Night Market, and Yehliu have been seeing fewer visitors from China because the Taiwan Affairs Office has halted approval for professional exchanges in Taiwan as well as most tourism applications, according to Hsu Gao-ching (許高慶), secretary-general of the Travel Agent Association of R.O.C. Taiwan (中華民國旅行商業同業公會全國聯合會).

Only Thousands at Popular Sites

According to the headcount of the popular attractions for Chinese tourists on the Tourism Bureau's official website, only 1,204 Chinese tourists had visited the National Palace Museum yesterday, while only 1,664 visited the Sun Moon Lake.

Most of the Chinese tourists Taiwan currently sees had applied to visit a while back, Hsu said. Because the Chinese officials have halted approving the current applications, the number of tourists in Taiwan has been halved.

To Avoid Accidents at Sensitive Timing

Hsu pointed out that the number of Chinese visitors generally does decrease around the time of Chinese New Year. Adding on the “unstable factor” of potential “dangerous situations” during the presidential election campaign season that might leave the tourists injured, and that there are only so many available airplane vacancies that Taiwanese businessmen could take advantage of to return home to vote, halting the applications makes sense for the Chinese government.

China Sends a Warning Signal

Other travel agencies speculated that the Chinese government could be warning Taiwan through such gestures: the sudden decrease of Chinese tourists has influenced many businesses, including hotels, tourist buses, restaurants, souvenir stores, Sun Moon Lake yacht renting, etc. — were Taiwan to bring its interactions with mainland China to a standstill, Taiwan's economy would receive great impact.

The Chinese officials have not completely stopped processing tourist trip applications, they just stopped expediting the process so the visit schedules would be pushed back, Hsu said, adding that the only approvals given to visits to Taiwan have been for business travels.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Mon, Feb 13, 2012 
*Officials mull expansion of limits in FIT program*
AHEAD OF THE GAME:An official said that raising the FIT program daily ceiling was not urgent because less than 200 Chinese travelers a day were now using the program
Taipei Times Staff Writer with CNA

The number of Chinese independent travelers to be allowed to visit Taiwan on their own instead of as part of a tour group could be raised from the 500 to 1,000 a day, Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman - Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) said.

In a speech on Saturday on cross-strait relations after Taiwan’s Jan. 14 presidential and legislative elections, Chiang said relations would likely become more peaceful, adding that exchanges between civil organizations would increase.

In addition to easing restrictions on Chinese investment in Taiwan, Chiang said the Free Independent Traveler (FIT) program would also be expanded, with residents from more Chinese cities being allowed to join the program and the daily entry ceiling on independent Chinese travelers increasing to 1,000.

Under the FIT program, which was launched in June last year, up to 500 Chinese independent travelers from three cities — Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen — are allowed to enter Taiwan each day for tourism.

“Eight mainland Chinese cities — Tianjin, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing and Jinan — could be added to the list,” Chiang said.

However, negotiations on the proposed FIT expansion had not yet been concluded, he added.

“The exact numbers of cities and the daily number of individual Chinese visitors requires further discussion,” Chiang said.

Tourism Bureau Deputy -Director-General David Hsieh (謝勤益) said on Thursday that representatives from Taiwan and China tentatively agreed during recent talks in Hong Kong to raise the number of FIT-cities to 11, but he did not disclose which cities.

A tourism bureau official said that raising the daily ceiling of the FIT program was not an urgent issue because from June 28 last year to Tuesday last week an average of just 184 independent Chinese tourists visited Taiwan per day.

“There is still a large gap between actual numbers and the current daily limit,” the official said.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*More mainlanders visit Taiwan for Spring Festival*

TAIPEI, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- A record 5,090 Chinese mainland tourists visited Taiwan on a daily average during the just-concluded nine-day Spring Festival holiday, mostly attracted by the island's unique festival celebrations, its sightseeing department said Monday.

A total of 45,811 mainlanders visited Taiwan in tour groups between Jan. 21 and 29, the island's public holiday period for the beginning of the Year of the Dragon, the department said. Mainlanders had seven days off for this year's Spring Festival.

The number of visits by mainlanders in the first six days of the holiday increased by about 26 percent over that of last year, it said in a statement.

Jan. 24, or the second day on the lunar calendar, witnessed a record high of 7,723 visits by mainlanders, it said, adding that besides Taiwan's scenic spots, the island's unique festival celebrations had always been an attraction.

More than 3.05 million mainland tourists had visited the island by the end of last year, since Taiwan allowed mainland tourists to visit in tour groups in July 2008, the department said.

It estimated that each mainland tourist spent 263.09 U.S. dollars each day in the island and stayed for 6.5 nights on average, resulting in more than 5 billion U.S. dollars in revenue for Taiwan's tourism industry.

Further, since the island opened for independent visits by mainlanders last June, a total of 38,549 mainlanders were approved to visit the island, with 29,187 having completed their tours within the 15-day limit, the department said, stressing that none of these visitors illegally prolonged their stay in the island.

Taiwan's sightseeing department said the island and the mainland were working to simplify application procedures for mainlanders, add more mainland cities to join the independent visit program and focus on promoting the island's popular sightseeing routes.

Traveling in Taiwan has proved dangerous for some mainlanders over the years due to the island's hilly terrain and extreme weather.

The latest mainland fatality was a 29-year-old tourist from Shanghai who died last Tuesday after a road accident in eastern Taiwan's Hualien.

It is the first death of a mainland independent tourist in Taiwan.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Fri, Mar 09, 2012 
*Taiwan may add more Chinese cities to the FIT program*
Taipei Times with CNA

Taiwan might open its doors to individual tourists from another seven to 10 Chinese cities, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) said on Wednesday.

The Free Independent Traveler (FIT) program, which commenced in June last year, allows up to 500 people from Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen to visit Taiwan per day without having to travel as part of a tour group.

Previous media reports have said the Chinese cities of Tianjin, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing and Jinan might be added to the list.

Although the Taipei-based Taiwan Strait Tourism Association and the Beijing-based Cross-Strait Tourism Association are about to finalize negotiations, Lai said they have not decided whether to change the daily quota.

The number of FIT applicants has surged by 50 percent this year to 429 per day compared with 284 last year, according to the National Immigration Agency.

In other news, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said the eighth round of high-level cross-strait talks will likely take place in Taiwan in the first half of the year.

SEF Vice Chairman Kao Koong-lian (高孔廉) said the next round of talks between SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) and Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) would focus mainly on a long-stalled investment protection pact.

“We should be able to seal the agreement, as there are only minor differences left for the two sides to resolve,” Kao said.

Taipei is pushing for the investment pact because it wants to protect Taiwanese businesspeople in China, who can be vulnerable in disputes with local governments over land rights and compensation claims.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Taiwan to see more mainland individual tourists*

BEIJING/TAIPEI, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Residents of ten additional Chinese mainland cities will be allowed to travel to Taiwan as independent tourists, according to a deal reached between organizations from both sides of the Strait on Sunday.

Residents of Tianjin, Chongqing, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Chengdu will be allowed to visit Taiwan individually starting from April 28, according to a deal reached by the Chinese mainland's Association for Tourism Exchanges Across the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan's Taiwan Strait Tourism Association.

The agreement also states that residents of Jinan, Xi'an, Fuzhou and Shenzhen will be permitted to visit individually before the end of the year. Previously, only residents from Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen were allowed to make individual trips.

Under the new agreement, the quota for mainland individual tourists to Taiwan will be increased to 1,000 per day from the current 500.

The new move was welcomed by individual businesses as a potential stimulus for the island' s service and tourism sectors.

Pai Chung-Ren, president of the Taiwan-based Certified Travel Councillor Association, predicted that more young people will travel to the island because of their preference for traveling alone.

"They have strong purchasing power and are generally well-educated. I believe they will have a greater understanding of Taiwan after traveling individually," Pai said.

Mainland tourism companies have predicted a sharp increase for cross-Strait tourism. In Fujian, Taiwan's nearest mainland province, tourism companies have signed agreements with their Taiwanese counterparts to deepen industry exchanges and cooperation.

In a bid to meet increasing demand, the Xiaoshan Airport in Hangzhou will open a regular flight to Hualien in east Taiwan, making for a total of four regular flights between the two cities.

Xu Peng, deputy director of the Tourism Bureau of east China's Zhejiang Province, said the local tourism industry is ready for a travel boom, with many agencies launching a variety of services targeted at individual travelers.

Wu Chin-feng, deputy director of the Taiwan Strait Tourism Association (TSTA)'s Beijing office, said the association will visit the newly approved cities soon to organize promotional activities.

He said individual tourists are expected to benefit Taiwan's small- and medium-sized enterprises, adding that the island's ability to accommodate and transport increased numbers of tourists has been improved.

Lu Wan-ciuan, a jewelry dealer, said the impact of strengthened tourism will not be limited to financial gain, stating that mainland tourists will have an opportunity to cement people-to-people ties and promote mutual understanding.

Taiwan first opened its doors to independent tourists from three mainland cities on June 28 last year. Since then, over 57,000 residents have traveled there. An overall ban on traveling to the island was lifted by Taiwanese authorities in July 2008. Before June 2011, mainlanders could only travel to the island as part of tightly-run tour groups, business trips, academic visits and trips related to family affairs.

The mainland is currently the biggest source of tourists to the island.In 2011, more than 1.78 million mainland residents visited Taiwan, a year-on-year increase of 9.4 percent. Mainlanders accounted for nearly one-third of the 6.08 million visitors the island received last year, according to Taiwanese tourism authorities.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Tue, Apr 10, 2012 
*FIT scheme expansion set to boost market*
Taipei Times with CNA

The market outlook seems promising now that Taiwan is poised to open its doors to independent travelers from 10 more Chinese cities, local travel industry representatives said, adding that they expect about 60,000 to 70,000 more Chinese visitors each year.

The Travel Agent Association said the recently expanded free independent traveler (FIT) program suggests a market potential that could be worth about NT$4 billion (US$135.6 million) per year.

The FIT program, which is currently restricted to residents of Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen, will be opened to those from Tianjin, Chongqing, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Chengdu from April 28, the government announced last week.

The daily entry limit will also be raised from 500 to 1,000, while the program will be extended to travelers from the cities of Jinan, Xian, Fuzhou and Shenzhen later this year, the government said.

“If we continue on the current path of tourism exchanges with China, the FIT program is likely to be fully opened to Chinese nationals within two years,” Travel Agent Association secretary--general Roget Hsu (許高慶) said.

The Tourism Bureau has also expressed optimism about the program, saying that although initial figures after the FIT program began in June last year were not satisfactory, the numbers are growing fast.

Bureau statistics show that about 29,000 travelers visited under the program in the second half of last year.

However, the number jumped significantly to nearly 27,000 during the first three months of this year.

“We will launch a series of campaigns to further introduce Taiwan to Chinese travelers,” said Chen Chiung-hua (陳瓊華), bureau division deputy director.

The campaigns would include the use of microblogs to spread the word and other competitions offering subsidized visits to Taiwan, Chen said.

In one of the competitions, 30 from among nearly 400 candidate groups will be chosen based on their travel plans, the bureau said. They will receive free flight tickets and a NT$5,600 allowance.

The winners will need to submit “reflection papers” recounting their trips and those who turn in the best work will receive an additional cash prize, the bureau said.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Updated Tuesday, April 10, 2012 0:01 am TWN 
*Chinese travel agencies talk up 'fragmented' tours of Taiwan*

The China Post news staff--Taiwan has become a traveling hotspot for mainland Chinese tourists, and with individual travelers from more Chinese cities to start visiting at the end of the month, those in the mainland's tourism business have decided to list Taiwan on the top of their promotion list.

One of the most in-style ways to visit Taiwan is through theme-based “fragmented” traveling, according to a Beijing-based international tourism group. Because there is too much to experience and try in Taiwan, instead of hurrying around the island and taking part in a great array of activities, the group uses themed traveling to let visitors thoroughly explore a single aspect of Taiwan.

The themes, which the tourism group refers to as “fragments,” include medical and cosmetic trips, hot spring trips, photography trips, delicacy trips, around-the-island biking tours, golfing holidays, wedding photography trips, students' summer camps and luxury vacations.

Beginning April 28, the first round of the second stage of individual traveling to Taiwan will be implemented, allowing residents from six more Chinese cities to take individual tours in Taiwan. The Taipei-based Taiwan Strait Tourism Association (台灣海峽兩岸觀光旅遊協會) will visit Tianjin, Chongqing, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and Chengdu prior to the launch of the second-stage program to market traveling in Taiwan, the group said yesterday.

Seeing how the number of individual Chinese tourists permitted to enter Taiwan will be doubled to 1,000 from 500 per day, the group suggested that the number of flights between Taiwan and China be increased to avoid the possibility of insufficient seats.

The second round of the second stage of individual traveling to Taiwan is expected to be implemented by the end of the year. Residents from four more cities — Jinan, Xian, Fuzhou, and Shenzhen — will also be allowed to travel independent of tour groups then.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Tue, Apr 17, 2012 
*Minimum Chinese tourist charge cancelation mulled*
Taipei Times

The Tourism Bureau is considering canceling the minimum tour charge requirement for Chinese tourists if the nation sees steady growth of free independent travelers (FIT) from China, officials said on the weekend.

The proposed change in policy follows a cross-strait agreement reached earlier this month to allow residents of 10 more Chinese cities to visit Taiwan as FITs.

Currently, only Chinese from Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen are allowed to travel as FITs. Based on the agreement, residents from Tianjin, Chongqing, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Chengdu can starting visiting as FITs starting from Saturday next week. Those from Jinan, Xian, Fuzhou and Shenzhen are also expected to be allowed to travel as FITs some time before the end of this year.

To ensure quality service for tour groups from China, the Guidelines on Arranging Quality Tour Groups in Taiwan for Chinese Tourists (旅行業接待大陸地區人民來臺觀光旅遊團品質注意事項) stipulate that each Chinese tourist visiting through a tour group must not be charged less than US$60 a day.

Article 22 in the Regulations for Administration of Travel Agencies (旅行業管理規則) also bars travel agencies from charging commission fees on travelers’ shopping or profiting from activities other than those in the original tour itinerary.

Chen Chiung-hua (陳瓊華), deputy chief of the bureau’s hotel, travel and training division, said the bureau would propose revising two regulations in response to the changes in the tourism market caused by the increase of international tourists.

“Article 22 in the Regulations for Administration of Travel Agencies was stipulated to regulate the nation’s travel agencies arranging overseas tours for Taiwanese. However, charging reasonable commission fees from travelers’ shopping should be made an acceptable practice in the market,” Chen said.

“And out of all the international tourists, if we simply set minimum tour charges for Chinese tourists, it would mean that the government uses a price control strategy to meddle in market competition,” Chen added.

While Chen said that the bureau was moving toward lifting the US$60 daily tour charge requirement, she said that the bureau needed to develop well-rounded complementary measures before it could remove the requirement.

“The travel agencies must continue to provide tour service of a quality comparable to the one they are offering now, even after the minimum tour charge no longer exists,” Chen said.

Taiwan started allowing Chinese FITs to enter the country beginning in June last year. As of March 31, about 165,000 Chinese tourists had applied for entry permits as FITs, of whom 57,000 have visited. On average, 201 Chinese FITs arrive daily.

No events will be staged to welcome the Chinese FITs from the six new source cities, Tourism Bureau Director-General David Hsieh (謝謂君) said.

To help the Chinese FITs plan for their trips in Taiwan, the bureau said it would sponsor some experienced travelers from China to come and tour Taiwan as FITs. They will be asked to follow the travel plans they have proposed and post about their travel experiences in Taiwan on microblogs, Hsieh added.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Mon, Jun 04, 2012 
Taipei Times
*Kinmen set for night time ferry service to Xiamen*

The number of Chinese tourists visiting Kinmen is expected to increase with the introduction, on a trial basis, of a night ferry service between Kinmen and Xiamen, in China’s Fujian Province. The maiden voyage is scheduled for June 17.

Prior to the decision to launch direct flights and postal service operations as well as direct trade between Taiwan and China in 2008, the government in 2001 permitted limited postal, transportation and trade links between Xiamen, Mawei and Quanzhou located in China’s Fujian Province and Kinmen and Matsu, which also became known as the “small three links.”

Hsu Kuo-ching (許國慶), a section chief at the Maritime and Port Bureau, said there would be three ferry services to Fujian Province from Kinmen, running between Kinmen’s Shueitou Harbor (水頭) and Xiamen’s Dongdu and between Shueitou and Wutong and Shijing Harbor in Quanzhou.

While the growth of passenger numbers on the three routes has slowed down because of an increase in direct cross-strait flights, Hsu said that the ferry service was used by 1.47 million people last year.

Currently, the ferry service runs daily from 8am with the last ferry leaving Kinmen at 5pm, while the local government requested that the service be extended to 7pm.

“We hope the service will attract more Chinese who want to spend a day visiting and shopping in Kinmen,” Hsu said. “In future, we might consider extending the service to 9pm, so that they can take their time finishing dinner and catch the last ferry back to Xiamen.”

The trial operation will begin at 7pm on June 17 on the Shueitou-Dongdu route.

Meanwhile, Hsu said Kinmen County Government had included the night ferry service as part of its China tourism campaign, adding that the same service could become available on the Shueitou-Wutong route if Wutong Harbor were made ready for a night ferry service.

The Civil Aeronautics Administration said the last flight from Kinmen to Taiwan leaves at 7:30pm and if night ferry passenger numbers increase airlines could be asked about the possibility of delaying the last flight until a later time.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Taiwan Strait shipping route adds night cruise*

XIAMEN, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Passenger shipping service between Chinese mainland's Xiamen city and Kinmen in Taiwan added a night cruise starting Sunday.

Last ships commuting the two cities left ports at 7 p.m. Sunday, marking a two-hour extension of the daily passenger transport on the popular route.

The extension of shipping hours on what is the shortest link between the mainland and Taiwan will boost the cross-strait trade and facilitate tourist trips between the two sides, as many believe that the new timetable will allow them to stay longer at Xiamen or Kinmen.

Security efforts, such as night patrols, would be strengthened as the new timetable came into force, according to the marine authorities in Xiamen.

The Xiamen-Jinmen shipping route was opened in 2001 and has since transported 7.78 million passengers.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Wed, Jul 04, 2012 
*Taipei seeks to boost S Korea, China tourist levels*
Taipei Times

With an estimated 300,000 South Korean tourists visiting Taipei this year thanks to the direct flight service which operates between Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) and Gimpo Airport in Seoul, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism is offering budget tour packages aimed at tourists from the country that include coupons for various retail outlets.

The department said it will provide NT$30,000 of coupons to South Korean visitors while well-known hotels in Taipei, including the W Hotel Taipei and Radium Kagaya, will also offer discounts, it added.

Commissioner Chao Hsin-ping (趙心屏) said the department had invited 15 journalists and travel bloggers from South Korea to experience the charms of the city and it would take them to handicraft stores and Taiwanese designers’ shops, given that South Korean tourists are interested in the city’s cultural and creative industries, during a three-day city promotion tour.

Meanwhile, a total of 15 Chinese journalists are to be invited to Taipei today to tour the city. Chinese tourists remain the biggest group of foreign tourists who visit Taiwan.

“Taipei’s popularity as a tourist destination is growing among South Korean tourists, especially individual tourists and backpackers. We expect the promotional program to attract more tourists to visit Taipei, boosting tourism in our city,” Chao said.

The city will arrange for the journalists and travel bloggers to visit major attractions today, including Beitou Hot Spring Museum, Beitou Library and the National Palace Museum, as well as Zhongshan N Street, where many Taiwanese designers have opened shops, the department said.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Mainland tourists to Taiwan total 4 mln*










TAIPEI, July 4 (Xinhua) -- The number of tourists traveling from the Chinese mainland to Taiwan has reached 4.06 million since mainland tourists were given permission to travel there four years ago, generating estimated revenues of 202 billion new Taiwanese dollars (6.77 billion U.S. dollars) for the island, a Taiwanese affairs official said Wednesday.

Lai Hsin-yuan, head of the island's cross-Strait affairs office, revealed the figures while addressing a tourism promotion event targeting mainlanders.

Individual tourists accounted for 90,000 of the total, Lai said.

Mainlanders started traveling to Taiwan in groups in July 2008, while individual travelers received permission to visit the island in June 2011.

Lai said mainland tourists have not only benefited the island economically, but have also boosted understanding between the people of both sides and helped to promote better cross-Strait relations.

A Taiwanese "tourism manual" and short film have been commissioned by Lai's department to help mainland tourists get to know the island.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Sat, Jul 07, 2012 
Taipei Times
*Taipei culture tour set to open up city*
GATEWAY TO A HIDDEN WORLD:Organizers of the annual Taipei Culture Passport are keen to show that the capital’s backstreets are alive with artistic energy
By Ho Yi / Staff reporter

This year’s Taipei Culture Passport features more than 50 walking tours, exhibitions, lectures and other activities running until Aug. 31.

Beginning as a booklet in 2004 listing places worth visiting in the capital and distributed by the city government, the Taipei Culture Passport has since expandedd to become a series of events in which the public is invited to experience the city’s traditions, history and culture.

This year’s theme is “Eight Approaches and Six Ways (八方六道),” with the organizers, Taipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs and South Village (南村落) — an arts and culture center, seeking to introduce different ways of exploring the city through eight theme-based categories, each of which features six activities led by artists and cultural experts.

In the category of Contemporary Design, for example, participants will have a chance to take guided tours of graffiti art in Ximending or to visit architectural studios at Songshan Tobacco Factory. Walking tours grouped within the Creative Aesthetics section will lead attendants through some of the city’s most thriving back streets such as Dongfeng Street (東豐街) and Fujin Street (富錦街) as well as the “Wen Luo Ding” (溫羅汀) area — which runs from Wenzhou Street (溫州街) to Roosevelt Road (羅斯福路) and Dingzhou Road (汀州路).

For nature-lovers there are organized outings to Zhishan Cultural and Ecological Gardens, Beitou Park and Tamsui River. Meanwhile, history is to be revisited through half-day trips to old neighborhoods such as Shilin (士林), Beitou (北投) and Dalongdong (大龍峒).

“Through these activities, we want to show people how easily it is to get in touch with culture in our daily lives. Culture and arts are experienced in the city’s nooks and crannies, not just inside the National Theater or National Palace Museum,” Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Liu Wei-gong (劉維公) said.

Lulu Han (韓良露), the head of South Village, said that even after the event ends, people can still use the brochures as a city tour guide.

“For tourists from Chinese-speaking regions, the booklets are a good reference point for an in-depth city trip,” he said.

Culture Passport brochures containing information on destinations and activities can be picked up at various cultural venues around the city, including Taipei’s Museum of Contemporary Art, Lin Yu-tang Residence (林語堂故居), Spot — Taipei Film House (光點—台北之家) and Red House Theater (西門紅樓). It can also be found online at: 2012taipeiculturepassport.blogspot.tw.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Shenzhen still waiting for independent trips to Taiwan*
2012-July-18 08:53 
Shenzhen Daily

SHENZHEN’S culture, sports and tourism bureau has denied recent microblog rumors that say Shenzhen residents will be allowed to begin visiting Taiwan as individual tourists in late August.

“We haven’t received any notice from the national tourism administration regarding the specific time for the opening of self-guided tours to Taiwan,” Qiu Gan, director of the supervision and management department of the city’s tourism administration, told Shenzhen Daily yesterday.

Shenzhen and nine other mainland cities were approved in early April for future self-guided tours, or individual and independent trips, to Taiwan, triggering local residents’ anticipation of the official opening.

But three months later, Shenzhen residents still can only visit Taiwan by taking part in package tours.

“We haven’t been informed, either, of a specific time for the official opening of the self-guided tours,” said Zhu Jun, a manager of Shenzhen Port China Travel Service. “On the whole, there’s an increase in the number of local tourists to Taiwan each year. Our agency has witnessed a 60-percent growth in the number of people taking part in package tours to Taiwan this year, compared with the same period last year.”

Zhu said while some residents are looking forward to a self-guided tour, some still favor a package tour because of its conveniences.

Despite an unclear opening date, Zhu’s agency has started planning services that will cater to self-guided tours of Taiwan, including flight and hotel booking and one-day excursions.

Zhu added that the opening of self-guided tours to Taiwan will not likely lead to a sharp increase in the number of local residents going there, because the procedure to apply for travel remains complicated and time-consuming.

“The procedure should be simplified,” Zhu said.

Taiwan has officially opened self-guided tours for people from nine mainland cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen — which already had approval before the April changes — along with Tianjin, Chongqing, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Chengdu, which gained approval in April and have since been opened for self-guided tours.

Shenzhen and three other cities have approval but are awaiting their official opening.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*More mainland individual tourists to visit Taiwan*

KAOHSIUNG, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Another four cities on the Chinese mainland have been approved to grant individual tourist visits to Taiwan as of Aug. 28, according to a deal reached between the two sides on Wednesday.

The Chinese mainland's Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan's Taiwan Strait Tourism Association reached the deal to allow residents from Jinan, Xi'an, Fuzhou and Shenzhen to visit Taiwan as individual tourists starting from Aug. 28.

Shao Qiwei, president of the Beijing-based Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Strait, said at a conference between the two sides that another 11 mainland cities in Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Guangdong provinces on the western side of the Taiwan Strait will be allowed to send individual tourists to Taiwan's Kinmen, Penghu and Matzu islands as of Aug. 28.

Taiwan first opened the door to individual tourists from mainland cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen, on June 28 last year.

Residents from Tianjin, Chongqing, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Chengdu were allowed to visit Taiwan from April 28.

Over 1.3 million mainland tourists visited Taiwan during the first half of 2012, up 50.7 percent year on year, Shao said Monday. Shao forecast that the number of tourists traveling across the Taiwan Strait would reach 13 million in 2016 and 20 million by 2020.

Shao said at the conference that the mainland and Taiwan are important sources of tourists for each other.

The Chinese mainland is currently the largest source of tourists for Taiwan, as mainland tourists take up about 30 percent of the island's total visitors, Shao said.

Taiwan is the third-largest source of tourists for the mainland, accounting for 6 percent of total tourists received by the mainland.

Total visits from both sides surged from 4.7 million people in 2008 to 7.05 million last year, representing an annual growth rate of 14 percent, Shao said.


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## skysky99 (Jun 1, 2012)

So what do you think about Taiwan, is it worth visiting? Is it much different from the mainland provinces like Fujian or Zhejiang?


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

skysky99 said:


> So what do you think about Taiwan, is it worth visiting? Is it much different from the mainland provinces like Fujian or Zhejiang?


Taiwan is definitely not a Fujian or Zhejiang. Chinese culture has evolved into something unique over there.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

_Here's the confirmation from the Taiwanese press :_

Fri, Aug 10, 2012 
Taipei Times
*Four cities added to FIT *

Four more Chinese cities have been included in the free independent travelers (FIT) program, the Tourism Bureau said, following a meeting attended by tourism officials from Taiwan and China at the annual Cross-Strait Tourism Round-Table Conference in Greater Kaohsiung on Wednesday.

Currently, only Chinese from Beijing, Shanghai, Xiamen, Tianjin, Chongqing, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Chengdu are allowed to visit Taiwan as FITs. Residents of other cities in China can only come with tour groups.

Tourism Bureau director general David Hsieh (謝謂君) said that both sides have agreed to add four more Chinese cities in the FIT program: Jinan, Xian, Fuzhou and Shenzhen.

“We [Taiwan and China] have also reached consensus that the Chinese tourists from these four cities can start coming on Aug. 28,” Hsieh said.

Meanwhile, both Taiwan and China have decided to expand cross-strait tourism exchanges through the “small three links,” through which Chinese tourists are allowed to visit the nation’s outlying islands of Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu.

Apart from residents of nine cities in China’s Fujian Province, Hsieh said residents of 11 other cities in Zhejiang, Guangdong and Jiangxi provinces are allowed to travel to the three outlying islands. The new policy will also take effect on Aug. 28.

Hsieh said that an average of 157 Chinese FITs visited Taiwan per day when the nation began implementing the Chinese FIT program last year. The number quickly climbed to average 500 daily between January and June this year. Shao Qiwei (邵琪偉), chairman of China’s National Tourism Administration, said his agency estimated that 13 million people would travel between Taiwan and China by 2016 and the number of Chinese tourists traveling to Taiwan could potentially top 7 million.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Fri, Aug 10, 2012 
*Lawmakers insist tourism tax would frighten sightseers*
Taipei Times with CNA

Several lawmakers from across party lines have voiced opposition to the idea of introducing a tourism tax in Yilan, Hualien and Taitung counties, saying it would drive away tourists.

Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford (張盛和) put forward the idea during a meeting with local officials in Hualien on Tuesday, suggesting that it would help attract more revenue to the three tourism-dependent counties in eastern Taiwan.

He said the tax would be justified because tourists create pollution in the areas they visit.

Chang was reported as saying that bed-and-breakfast establishments, restaurants and tour operators usually benefit from tourism, but local governments, which must keep building and maintaining infrastructure and facilities to attract sightseers, bear the costs.

Against this backdrop, a tourism tax paid by tourists and tour operators, as is done in countries like Switzerland, would help improve local governments’ finances, Chang was cited as saying.

In response, Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢) said he was opposed to the proposal as it could undermine tourism investments and the tourism market in general.

He urged the Ministry of Finance to assess the feasibility of the tourism tax proposal at a time when the entire country is trying to attract more foreign tourists. Lin said he would invite the county chiefs of Hualien and Taitung to join him in presenting their arguments against the tax proposal to the central government.

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said careful evaluation would be required before making any decision on the proposal.

A tourism tax would most likely deter sightseers from traveling to eastern Taiwan, which in turn would hamper development of the local tourism industry, she said.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) expressed a similar view, saying the idea was ill-timed considering that Taiwan is experiencing an economic slowdown.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Fri, Aug 17, 2012 
*Night markets still top spots for foreign tourists*
POLL:A survey conducted at three major airports found that Chinese tourists were the most satisfied with their visits, while the Japanese spent the most
Taipei Times

Night markets remained the most popular tourist attraction among international tourists last year, according to a Tourism Bureau survey, which found that 74 percent of international tourists reported having visited a night market during their stay in Taiwan.

Next in line was the Taipei 101 building, with 58 percent of respondents, the National Palace Museum (52 percent), Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall (35 percent) and Sun Moon Lake (34 percent).

Japanese tourists cited Jioufen (九份) as their favorite scenic spot, while Chinese said they preferred Sun Moon Lake and visitors from Singapore, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia said that they liked Tiansiang (天祥) and Taroko Gorge the most, the survey showed.

Meanwhile, Shihfen Waterfall (十分瀑布) in New Taipei City (新北市) won the hearts of visitors from Hong Kong and Macau, whereas Malaysian tourists cited Cingjing Farm (清境農場) in Greater Taichung as their favorite, the survey found.

The favorite spot for tourists from Europe and North America was the National Palace Museum.

The survey showed that tourism revenue grew by 26.91 percent compared to 2010 to a record US$11 billion. The number of international tourists reached 6.08 million last year, another record.

Japanese tourists were ranked first in terms of their average daily expenditure in Taiwan, which includes the costs spent on accommodation and other charges. Japanese spent an average of US$348 daily per person last year, which was a 23 percent increase on 2010. Japanese traveling with tour groups spent an average US$430 daily per person, a growth of 35 percent.

Chinese tourists traveling with tour groups were found to have greater buying power. Each spent US$163 daily on shopping, more than the overall average of US$146.96.

Asked to rate their travel experiences, 98 percent of the Chinese respondents said they were satisfied with the tours in Taiwan.

They were followed by visitors from Hong Kong and Macau (94.2 percent), US (93.3 percent), Malaysia (93 percent), Europe (92 percent) and Japan (90 percent). Only 73 percent of the South Korean tourists reported they were satisfied with their travel experiences, which was lowest of all countries.

While a majority of international visitors were impressed by the friendliness of the Taiwanese, convenient transportation system, delicious food, beautiful scenery as well as good service, they also complained about the ability of Taiwanese to communicate in English, confusing traffic signs, traffic congestion and the paucity of public trash cans.

The survey was conducted last year at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Kaohsiung International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan), from which the bureau collected about 6,000 valid samples.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Express ferry boosts cross-Strait travel* 

FUZHOU, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Cross-Strait sea trips between Fujian province and Taiwan more than tripled in the first seven months of 2012, mainly due to the operation of a new express passenger liner, local transportation officials said Thursday.

More than 90,000 people traveled by sea between Fujian and the main island of Taiwan from January to July this year. More than 16,800 made trips in the peak season of July, marking a rise of 446 percent year on year, statistics from the Fujian transportation bureau showed.

Officials attributed the surge in cross-Strait travel to the operation of Haixia, a high-speed passenger ferry linking the city of Taichung in Taiwan and Pingtan county in Fujian since November last year. On average, more than 10,000 people have traveled on the Haixia every month since April, statistics show. The operator increased the ferry service to four times a week from June to August.

Fujian is the closest point on the Chinese mainland to Taiwan. However, the first regular direct sea route after 1949 was not launched until August 2009, linking the province's Xiamen Port and Taiwan's Taichung Port and Keelung Port.

Cross-Strait travel has surged in the past few years amid warming relations between the mainland and Taiwan. Fujian tourism authorities estimated that more than 280,000 mainland tourists would visit Taiwan via Fujian's sea and air ports in 2012.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Taiwan invites individual tourists from four more mainland cities*

BEIJING, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chen Wenjing's ambitious plan to go backpacking in Taiwan to see the island up close and personal is about to come true.

"I've been on a group tour to Taiwan. Our schedule then was very tight, and we rushed around the island and only caught glimpses of things. This time, I will walk on every street with my backpack and taste all kinds of local cuisine," Chen, a resident of the southern city Shenzhen, said as she filled out an application form to take a trip to Taiwan as an individual tourist from the mainland.

Tuesday marked the day that residents in the four mainland cities of Jinan, Shenzhen, Fuzhou and Xi'an were officially allowed to apply to travel to Taiwan as individuals under a cross-Strait agreement, bringing the total such mainland cities to 13.

"Individual trips to Taiwan will be hot products for Shenzhou residents, as the city is very close to Hong Kong, where daily flights to Taipei and Kaohsiung abound," said Zeng Haisheng, head of the Taiwan department of Shenzhen Huaqiaocheng China Travel Service.

Zeng revealed that the company will present a series of travel products for individual tourists that will include plane tickets, hotel bookings and passes for various tourist attractions on the island.

According to Zhu Jun, a marketing manager with Shenzhen Port CTS Co., Ltd., the first batch of 120 seats for individual trips to Taiwan filled up less than two weeks after the product was launched in early August.

In addition to passes to tourist attractions, travel agencies in Fuzhou have offered "semi-individual" services that provide tour guides and transportation services in far-flung sites such as the Ali Mountain area and the Sun and Moon Lake, while tourists can tour freely in city districts.

"These semi-individual products have been much loved by tourists, as they offer conveniences as well as give backpackers the freedom to customize their trips," said Yang Wenying with China International Travel Service (Fujian) Co., Ltd.

An overall ban on traveling to the island was lifted by Taiwanese authorities in July 2008. However, mainlanders at that time could only travel to the island as part of tightly-run tour groups, business trips, academic visits and trips related to family affairs.

On June 28 last year, Taiwan opened its doors to independent tourists from the three mainland cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen.

Figures from Taiwan's tourism authorities show that more than 78,000 mainland residents had traveled to the island individually as of May this year, bringing with them some 4.2 billion new Taiwan Dollars (140 million U.S. dollars).

The mainland is currently the largest source of tourists to the island.In 2011, more than 1.78 million mainland residents visited Taiwan, a year-on-year increase of 9.4 percent. Mainlanders accounted for nearly one-third of the 6.08 million visitors the island received last year, according to Taiwanese tourism authorities.

Fuzhou resident Wu Xiaoling booked a semi-individual tour on Tuesday at a local travel agency, with a leisurely plan to sightsee in Taipei for three days and then go out to the Ali Mountain area and the Kenting Forest Recreation Area.

"Now that individual tourism (to Taiwan) is available... it's not necessary to travel to every corner of the island in one trip. More places will be on my itineraries for future tours," Wu said.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Mon, Sep 17, 2012 
Taipei Times
*International tourist numbers grow: bureau*
HOLIDAY MONEY-MAKERS:The Tourism Bureau has pinned its hopes on double-digit growth in visitors numbers and is now also targeting Muslim travelers 

The Tourism Bureau estimated yesterday that the number of international tourists would set a record this year by exceeding 7 million.

Last year, a total of 6.08 million international visitors visited Taiwan.

Statistics from the bureau showed that a total of 4,776,022 international tourists visited the nation between January and August this year, registering year-on-year growth of 24.76 percent.

The bureau indicated that the number of international tourists reached double digit growth each month, with the percentage of growth exceeding 30 percent in March and in June.

Specifically, the number of Chinese tourists has increased by 54 percent during this period, which was ranked No. 1 among all the other source countries for visitors. It was followed by travelers from Hong Kong and Macau as well as those from Japan, which grew by 28.9 percent and 18.35 percent respectively.

If growth continues without disruption, the total number of international tourists could exceed 7 million this year, the bureau said.

The bureau further noted that it has aimed to gradually raise the number of international visitors to 10 million each year by 2016.

It has planned to expand the sources for international visitors by tapping into markets in India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, in which a new generation of wealthy consumers has emerged thanks to fast economic growth.

It has also planned to attract more Muslim visitors from Malaysia, Brunei and the northwest of China.

Meanwhile, the bureau said that it would streamline the application procedures for entry permits for independent travelers and business travelers from China as a way to motivate more people with higher purchasing power to visit the country.

The bureau intends to focus on six major tourism themes in its marketing strategy next year, including the nation’s cuisine, culture, healthy and sustainable lifestyles, eco-tourism and shopping.

It also plans to publish the Taiwan Tourism Calendar, which would show the events and festivals held by either the central government or local governments.

The calendar would feature photographs of the nation’s characteristic events, including the hot air balloon festival in Taitung, beehive firecrackers in Greater Tainan and the Sky Lantern Festival in Pingsi, New Taipei City.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Mainlanders visiting Taipei's Palace Museum exceed Taiwanese *

TAIPEI, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Taipei's Palace Museum has so far this year seen more visitors from the Chinese mainland than from Taiwan, the museum's director revealed on Friday.

The site received nearly 3 million visitors in the first eight months of 2012, with 47 percent of the total from the mainland and 36 percent from the island, according to Fung Ming-chu, curator of the museum.

Although authorities in Taiwan lifted a ban on mainlanders traveling to the island in July 2008, "this is the first time that the number of mainland visitors has exceeded number of visitors from Taiwan," Fung said.

Taipei's Palace Museum, considered a must-see during most tourists' Taiwan trips, receives 10,000 to 12,000 visitors a day on average.

To accommodate growing numbers of visitors, the museum's exhibition area is to be expanded from the current 7,268 square meters to 26,430 square meters by 2017, Fung said.

It has been estimated that the museum's expansion will cost up to 20 billion New Taiwan dollars (680.1 million U.S. dollars), according to its director.

The Chinese mainland is currently the biggest source of tourists to Taiwan.

In 2011, more than 1.78 million mainland residents visited the island, a year-on-year increase of 9.4 percent, taking up nearly one third of the 6.08 million visitors Taiwan received last year, according to local tourism authorities.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Sat, Oct 27, 2012 
*Regional tourism nears landmark*
Taipei Times

The number of tourists from Hong Kong and Macau could exceed 1 million this year, Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) said yesterday, adding that the two special administrative regions of China would together become the third region to hit the 1 million tourists benchmark, following Japan and China.

Mao, who made the statement at the opening ceremony of the Taipei International Travel Fair (ITF), said the number of inbound tourists could exceed 7 million this year. The number of outbound tourists could reach 10 million this year, up from 9.5 million last year.

Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), American Institute in Taiwan Director Christopher Marut and dignitaries from other countries also attended the opening.

With the US announcing Taiwan’s inclusion in its visa waiver program on Oct. 2, Wu said the number of Taiwanese applying to visit the US from Oct. 2 until yesterday had increased 10 percent.

He estimated that Taiwanese tourism to the US could see growth of 150 percent within a year after the inclusion of Taiwan in the program.

Statistics from Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau showed that approximately 400,000 Taiwanese tourists traveled to the US last year.

The nation began hosting the annual travel fair 26 years ago. Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau, Guam and Hawaii are among the countries and regions that have sent representatives to attend the fair since then.

This year, the four-day fair features 850 exhibitors from 60 countries. They include airlines, travel agencies, restaurants, hotels and government agencies.

The fair was not opened to the public until noon, but people had started lining up at Hall 1 of the Taipei World Trade Center early yesterday morning. Many of them have come to find package tours for the Lunar New Year holiday from Feb. 2 to Feb. 17 next year.

The ITF Organizing Committee said visitors could expect many discounted deals at the fair. A South Korean airline company, for example, has offered round-trip tickets to South Korea at NT$1,000 for early buyers. EVA Airways, on the other hand, offers a five-day tour to Guam at a starting price of NT$17,888, which covers both the flight tickets and accommodation. However, consumers were advised to read the fine print in their contracts.

Taiwan Visitors Association chairman Chang Chia-juch (張家祝) said that approximately 250,000 visitors came to the fair last year, with transactions made on the spot topping NT$1.5 billion (US$512,3 million). He said the association estimated that the figures in both categories would increase this year.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Cross-Strait tourism benefits Taiwan, mainland economies*

TAIPEI, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Millions of tourists from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan are making cross-Strait tours every year, bringing huge benefits to both economies and helping reduce misunderstandings.

A cross-Strait travel fair kicked off in Taipei on Friday, offering the mainland and Taiwan an opportunity to showcase tourist attractions and market their tourism products.

A total of 368 promotion booths have been set up at the travel fair, with 235 from the mainland and 133 from Taiwan.

FAST GROWING TOURISM

The past four years have seen relations between the mainland and Taiwan improve significantly, which helps build cross-Strait tourism into a booming and lucrative business.

Taiwan first allowed mainland tourists to visit the island in groups in July 2008. The first group of individual mainland tourists started to come to Taiwan after June 2011.

Cross-Strait travel, especially the tourism industry in Taiwan, has seen the benefits.

According to figures provided by the mainland-based Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits, Taiwanese tourists made a total of 4.01 million visits to the mainland in the first nine months of the year, marking a 0.74-percent year-on-year growth.

Meanwhile, mainland tourists made 1.46 million visits to Taiwan in the January-September this year, surging 73.6 percent.

So far citizens in all 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions on the mainland have been allowed to travel to Taiwan in groups. The number of mainland travel agencies permitted to organize such groups has increased to 216.

In addition, citizens in 13 mainland cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Jinan, can travel individually to the island.

The number of weekly fights between the mainland and Taiwan has risen to 558.

Taiwan's economy has been under great stress as demand for its exports has been dampened amid a stalled U.S. economic recovery and the ongoing European sovereign debt crisis. Tourism is helping it get a much-needed stimulus as millions of mainland tourists visit the island, spending billions of New Taiwanese dollars on accommodation, transportation and local products.

MUTUAL BENEFITS

The mainland and Taiwan have become an important source of tourists for each other in the past few years and booming cross-Strait tourism has brought benefits to both sides.

Figures released earlier this month by the Taiwan authorities showed that a total of 4.28 million mainland tourists had visited the island by the end of August, creating revenues of 216.7 billion New Taiwanese dollars (about 7.41 billion U.S. dollars).

Meanwhile, the Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits said tourists from Taiwan spent a total of 5.985 billion U.S. dollars in the mainland in 2011. In the first nine months of this year, the amount stood at 4.541 billion U.S. dollars.

As citizens in the mainland become more affluent, the number of tourists visiting Taiwan is more likely to increase in the future.

Liu Wen-yi, general manager of Taiwan's LionTravel, said the mainland tourism market has been growing fast and all tours offered by his company are attracting a lot of consumers from Taiwan.

DIFFERENT APPROACH

At the travel fair, delegations from the mainland and Taiwan are having a different focus while marketing their tourism products.

For mainland exhibitors, they are working hard to promote famous tourist attractions in their home region.

Zhang Kun, a worker with the tourism promoting agency in the Hubei Province on the mainland, said Hubei has been working with a major travel agency in Taiwan to market two eight-day tours around the province.

The Hubei booth features tours in the metropolitan city of Wuhan and other historic cities of Yichang, Jingzhou and Xiangyang. It also markets other cultural tours to Hubei, including ones to the Wudang Mountain, a world-renown Taoist religious site.

For representatives from far west Xinjiang on the mainland, they try to make their breathtaking terrain, such as deserts and grasslands, more familiar to the consumers in Taiwan.

But Taiwan's delegation takes a different approach. The island has a very sophisticated tourism market and the delegation not only consists of representatives of travel agencies, but also brings together owners of leisure farms, theme parks and duty-free shops.

Chang Chia-juch, chairman of the Taiwan Visitors Association, said Taiwan has been planning new tours to both old and newly designed tourist attractions, citing as examples bicycle tours around Sun Moon Lake in Nantou County in central Taiwan and visits to ethnic minority groups in east Taiwan.

If the current trend continues, more mainland tourists are expected to visit Taiwan in the coming years and the number of tourists from Taiwan visiting the mainland will remain at high levels. It is a phenomenon that will not only bring economic benefits to both sides, but also contribute to overall peace and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Updated Tuesday, November 13, 2012 0:25 am TWN
CNA
*Tourism office in Shanghai expected to boost interest*

SHANGHAI -- The soon-to-open Shanghai office of the Taiwan Strait Tourism Association (TSTA) has been designed to become “the place (in Shanghai) closest to Taiwan,” with decorations associated with the country, the office chief said yesterday.

The office is furnished with wooden bookshelves and blue carpets, symbolizing Taiwan's topography and the ocean. Three-dimensional images of several of the country's landmarks, such as Taroko Gorge and the Queen's Head rock formation at the Yehliu Geopark are also projected on the walls.

The second office in China of the Taipei-based TSTA following the establishment of the first, in Beijing, will handle Taiwan tourism-related affairs in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian and Jiangxi provinces, said Lee Chia-pin, director of the Shanghai Office.

Thirty percent of the 260-square-meter office, located on the 10th floor of a building in downtown Shanghai, will be open to the public from Nov. 15.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Sat, Nov 24, 2012 
*Number of tourists could hit 10 million by 2016, Ma says*
BOOM INDUSTRY:The president told students that the speed of growth is unprecedented and it is evidence that Taiwan is a potential tourist hot spot
Taipei Times with CNA

Pointing to the growth in the number of tourists visiting Taiwan over the past three years, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday that it is possible that the total number of tourists visiting the nation will exceed 10 million in 2016.

Speaking at National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism before meeting with students, Ma said that in the past the growth in the number of tourists visiting Taiwan was only an additional 1 million per decade, but in the past three years tourism growth has exceeded a million every year.

He said 3.7 million tourists visited Taiwan in 2007, rising to 3.8 million in 2008. However, in 2010 4.3 million tourists visited Taiwan and 6 million arrived last year.

It is possible that the nation could see a total of 7 million by the end of this year, Ma said.

The speed of growth is unprecedented and it is evidence that Taiwan is a potential tourist hot spot, Ma said.

*He also said that of the 6 million tourists that visited last year, Chinese tourists made up only 1 million*, while the rest comprised of tourists from Southeast Asian countries or Japan, adding that there were also a staggering 800,000 tourists from Hong Kong and Macau.

Taiwan’s appeal is not only its rich gastronomic culture and its beautiful scenery, but also its strong morals, Ma said, pointing to the example of how a Japanese visitor had received back his wallet after losing it in Taiwan six months previously, or the recent incident in which renowned Taiwanese writer Wu Nien-jen (吳念真) had his mobile phone returned to him before he had left the station after he left it on a high-speed train.

A student from Malaysia also spoke during the meeting with Ma, saying that the Taiwanese attitude toward foreigners was one of the nation’s greatest attributes.

Tourism is not all about quantity, but also quality, and we need to set high standards for Taiwanese tourism, Ma said.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Cross-Strait passenger liner carries more than 100,000*

BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- A high-speed passenger liner across the Taiwan Strait has carried more than 100,000 people since it began operation last November, a spokesman said Wednesday.

The passenger liner named Haixia has played a constructive role in facilitating cross-Strait travels and improving exchanges, Yang Yi, spokesman with the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, told a press conference in Beijing.

The liner links the city of Taichung in Taiwan and Pingtan county in Fujian Province in the mainland.

"The mainland is glad to see further improvement of cooperation in shipping service across the Strait," Yang said.

The Haixia can carry 760 passengers and 260 cars.

The mainland has become the largest source of tourists for the island since the two sides lifted the ban on tourists across the Taiwan Strait in July, 2008.

The number of mainland tourist arrivals totaled 1.45 million in the first three quarters of the year, up 73.6 percent over the same period in 2011.

To facilitate travels, mainland police eased restrictions in applying for a Taiwan travel pass in six big cities in September.

People who work or study at higher education institutions in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen are allowed to apply for a travel pass, even if they do not hold household registrations in these six cities.

Most mainland residents must apply for a Taiwan travel pass to police in the area where they hold a household registration.

This has caused problems for people who leave their hometown but do not transfer their household registration location.

The policy is being applied in the six cities because they have a large inflow of people, Yang said.

When commenting on the complaints from Taiwan travel agencies about their mainland partners defaulting on payment of cross-Strait travels, Yang admitted that such behavior did occur but not very often.

He pledged that the mainland tourism watchdog will work to regulate the industry and punish those intentionally defaulting payment.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Thu, Dec 27, 2012 
Taipei Times
*Taipei launches new brochures to boost foreign, local tourism*

The Taipei City Government’s Department of Information and Tourism has issued the latest version of its city travel brochure in Chinese, English and Japanese, offering an introduction to the city’s major attractions and coupons worth NT$1,000 to attract both local and foreign visitors.

The travel brochures can be obtained for free with the purchase of a Taipei Pass, a type of EasyCard that offers unlimited access to MRT and bus rides.

The Taipei Pass, which comes in one, two, three and five-day formats, costs between NT$180 and NT$700, and is sold at all MRT stations.

Department commissioner Chao Hsin-ping (趙心屏) said Taipei is the first stop for most foreign visitors to Taiwan and the brochures could help boost tourism in the city.

The department included travel tips in the three versions tailored specifically for each nationality, she said. For example, in the English version of the brochure, there are detailed introductions on Taipei’s bike routes along the riverside and surrounding attractions, while the Japanese version includes an introduction to the tea industry and related activities in the city.

Eleven shops featured in the latest version of Taipei Pass travel brochure offer free gifts worth about NT$1,000 in total, while more than 80 stores offer coupons whose value equals NT$46,000. Some of the city’s top attractions, including Eslite Bookstore, are also giving out coupons to visitors who show their brochures, the department said.

The number of Taipei Pass brochures sold increased from 38,000 in 2010 to 92,826 last year, a growth of 141 percent.

Wang Shih-chia (王施佳), a division chief at the department, said that the Taipei Pass is also popular among visitors from central and southern Taiwan, who are drawn by the travel convenience the pass affords.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Chinese mainland tourists to Taiwan hits record high*

BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese mainland visitors to Taiwan topped 1.97 million in 2012, up 57.6 percent year on year, hitting a record high, the cross-Straits tourism authority said Sunday.

The Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits said more than 1.78 million were group tourists, with the rest being individuals.

Group visitors rose nearly 46 percent year on year, and individual tourists surged 553 percent in 2012 from the previous year, according to the association.

Mainland visitors accounted for about 36 percent of Taiwan's total inbound tourists in 2012, ranking this group first, according to relevant departments of Taiwan.

Taiwan opened for group tourists from the Chinese mainland in 2008, and for individuals in 2011.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Mon, Jan 21, 2013 
*Tourism industry asks government to help fix issues*
Taipei Times with CNA

The tourism industry is complaining over lost profits caused by the government’s misguided policies on regulating tourists from China, which overtook Japan as the country with the largest tourist presence in Taiwan last year.

The industry says its profit margins are being compressed because of Hong Kong investors monopolizing the sector, adding that despite the increased volume of Chinese tourists, the poor quality of tours and delayed payments by Chinese tourism firms have not given the sector the boost it needs.

Travel agencies say investors from Hong Kong are executing what is known in the tourism industry as “flush” monopolization and exerting control over tour agencies, hotels, restaurants, stores and tour bus agencies in Taiwan.

The stores in the “flush” exclusively sell products made in and imported from China. The stores are suspected of tax avoidance because thery often burn their receipts instead of filing them for taxation, the agencies said.

According to Lee Ming-huei (李銘輝) from the Taiwan Hospitality and Tourism College, Hong Kong tycoons own eight of the 10 travel agencies with the most Chinese customers in Taiwan.

The government should make an effort to promote local goods and increase the number of Chinese free independent travelers (FIT) instead of group tours because the profits made by Taiwanese operators under the current scenario are very small, travel agencies said.

However, Yang Yeong-sheng (楊永盛), the director of the Tourism Bureau’s Planning and Research Division, said Taiwanese should not blame Hong Kong businesspeople for monopolizing the market.

“Flush” tactics are common practice in the industry, and Taiwanese businesspeople have been known to employ the same tactics in Japan to cater to Taiwanese tourists, Yang said.

Others within the industry also complained that the “flush” was degrading the quality of tourism in Taiwan because tour groups focused excessively on shopping instead of visiting scenic spots.

Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) said that although group tours had given the tourism sector sufficient capital to finance day-to-day operations, the problem lies with the industry’s inability to develop new tourist hotspots or upgrade infrastructure.

In an effort to address the issue, Mao said the bureau has met with industry figures and proposed implementing tour regulations such as prohibiting shopping mall visits that take up half of a tour’s entire time, or placing a one-hour time limit on shopping during tours.

Travel agencies said the bureau was overstepping its authority and should only concern itself with devising policy to improve the quality of tourism in Taiwan, and leave tour decisions to the agencies. The agencies added that cutting out shopping from tours, or devoting less time to it would drastically raise tour group costs, which could hurt demand from Chinese tourists.

The government should instead continue to expand the list of cities in China from which Taiwan accepts applications for FIT to visit Taiwan, agencies said.

On the issue of how the Chinese agencies often defer payment by two or three months, the agencies said that even though this was the case, they had to keep accepting Chinese tour groups to drum up business.

The government refuses to approve applications for Chinese tour groups if travel agencies report that they have not received full payment from their Chinese counterparts, so agencies often falsify their reports to bring in business, even though they complain about the low profits generated by operating such tour groups.

Travel Agent Association chairman Yao Ta-kuang (姚大光) criticized the agencies for complaining to the government, saying last year that this was a commercial matter and the agencies should pressure their Chinese counterparts to pay.

Yao compared the agencies’ complaining to running a marathon with a broken leg and saying their legs hurt, Yao said.

In response, Yang said the government was aware of the situation and planned to talk with Beijing about operating Chinese tour groups on a “pay first, travel later” basis on March 28. Yang said that both sides could choose a third party — either a bank or insurance company — that would hold the funds until the tour was completed, and then the money could be withdrawn.

Meanwhile, academics and agencies said that Chinese FITs were the best solution for improving the quality of tours because these sorts of travelers would not be bound by rigid group tour schedules and also are able to see the “real” Taiwan.

Delayed payment would not be an issue with individual travelers because they pay in cash and up front, agencies said, adding that increasing the number of such tourists would boost both the industry and the economy.


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## italiano_pellicano (Feb 22, 2010)

thanks for all the information


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Sat, Feb 02, 2013 
*FIHC plans four new hotels and staffing growth*
UPTURN IN DEMAND:Citing a growing tourism sector and demand during the Lunar New Year, the firm was upbeat on its local and international prospects
Taipei Times

Formosa International Hotels Corp (FIHC, 晶華國際酒店集團) plans to add four new hotels to its Just Sleep (捷絲旅) brand, the operator’s business hotel chain, this year, to take advantage of growth in Taiwan’s tourism sector, a company official said yesterday.

The hotel operator, which owns the “Regent” luxury hotel brand, will recruit nearly 400 new employees this year as part of its expansion plans, the official added.

“The accelerating pace of expansion has left the company with a staffing issue,” FIHC chief executive officer Amy Hsueh (薛雅萍) told a media briefing.

The number of tourists visiting Taiwan is expected to surpass 10 million by 2016, which will drive up demand for hotels, Hsueh said, citing a forecast made by the government.

Therefore, FIHC is set to accelerate its expansion plans by launching five hotels globally this year, including four Just Sleep hotels and a Regent Hotel on the Indonesian island of Bali.

The four Just Sleep hotels are set to open in Taipei City, Greater Kaohsiung, Hualien and Yilan, the company said in a statement.

Hsueh said the company will consider opening more Just Sleep hotels in popular tourist spots around the nation in the future, as the hotel’s pricing strategy meets demand from many independent foreign tourists and domestic visitors.

As well as creating around 400 new jobs this year, FIHC is planning to launch a new elite program, aiming to recruit 10 management associates this year. Hsueh said the company will invest over NT$200 million (US$6.74 million) in training the 10 chosen management associates over an 18-month period.

The company expects sales for this month to rise on strong seasonal demand during the Lunar New Year holiday, as its hotels are located in popular spots, such as Silks Place Taroko (太魯閣晶英酒店), which has been fully booked for the holiday.

Meanwhile, revenue from the company’s restaurants may also increase during the holiday, the company added.

FIHC posted NT$3.71 billion in sales last year, up 2.38 percent from a year earlier, the company said in its stock exchange filing.

Net income totaled NT$802.05 million, or NT$8.47 per share, in the first three quarters of last year, up from NT$729.16 million, or NT$7.77 per share, recorded from the same period in 2011, company statistics showed.

The company’s shares rose 0.97 percent to close at NT$364.5 on the local bourse yesterday, compared with the benchmark TAIEX’s 0.08 percent rise, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.


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## Linguine (Aug 10, 2009)

nice news from Taiwan.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Mon, Feb 25, 2013 
*Travel agency planning to send 1,300 Chinese tourists to Taiwan on cruise*
Taipei Times with CNA

A Chinese travel agency is planning to send 1,300 tourists from Sichuan Province to Taiwan on a cruise ship late April, capitalizing on the increasing popularity of cruise tours among Chinese tourists.

A tourism executive in China said that despite it being primarily small and medium-sized tour groups that take cruises to Taiwan, China Comfort Travel’s Sichuan branch had organized a cruise tour for larger groups.

This could be the first time that so many tourists from China have applied to visit Taiwan, the executive said.

The first group, comprised of between 100 and 200 tourists, will fly to Shanghai from Chengdu on April 25 and board a Star Cruise ship that will depart for Taiwan that evening.

The ship is expected to arrive at Keelung Harbor on April 27 at 7am.

On the first day, the tour group is scheduled to visit the National Palace Museum, the Shilin Presidential Residence, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Taipei 101 and the Keelung Night Market.

The group is then to board the ship at 11pm and sail into Taichung Harbor the next morning to visit the Chung Tai Chan Monastery and Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) before returning to the ship in the evening and departing to China.

Taiwanese tourism operators said that a large portion of the Chinese public see cruise tours as a novelty, especially those from inland provinces such as Sichuan.

“The cruise tour market has great potential,” one travel agent said.

In addition, if cruise tours becomes a mainstay of the industry, it would help relieve the overcrowding in the air, hotel and tour bus sectors, the agent said.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Tue, Mar 05, 2013 
*Visitor numbers up, average spending falls*
Taipei Time with CNA

Taiwan saw a record number of visitors last year, but per-capita visitor spending declined by nearly 12 percent year-on-year, government statistics released yesterday show.

Each inbound passenger spent an average of US$1,601 in the nation last year, down US$217, or 11.9 percent, from 2011, according to figures compiled by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).

The number of visitors reached 7.311 million last year, up 20.1 percent from the previous year, pushing up total expenditure by visitors to US$11.7 billion, which was about a 5.8 percent increase from a year earlier.

Tourism Bureau officials said the fall in per-capita spending last year resulted primarily from a huge jump in spending in 2011 by Japanese visitors to the nation, which was up 22.97 percent at US$348 per day, from US$283 per day in 2010.

Japanese visitors spent more on leisure activities such as spas and hot springs following the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, and the subsequent nuclear accident in Japan, officials said.

Daily spending by Japanese visitors is likely to have normalized last year, the bureau said.

“The average spending per visitor last year actually followed the trend of between a 2 percent and 3 percent rise in average spending per visitor from 2006 to 2010. It’s just that spending really soared in 2011, so last year looked like a poor year,” the bureau’s planning division said.

Regarding outbound tourism, Taiwanese made 10.24 million overseas visits last year, up 6.8 percent from the previous year, but per-capita expenditure dropped slightly from US$1,055 to US$1,038, DGBAS figures showed.

Total outbound tourist expenditure was US$10.63 billion last year, up 5.1 percent on a year-on-year basis, the figures showed.

As a result, the country registered a US$1.08 billion travel surplus last year, DGBAS officials said.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Large mainland tourist group arrives in Taiwan*

TAIPEI, March 12 (Xinhua) -- A group of 2,400 tourists from the Chinese mainland arrived in Taipei Tuesday afternoon.

They are part of a larger number of 12,000 people who are traveling to Taiwan in five separate groups. The remaining four groups are due to arrive later this month.

The tourists, all employees of Amway (China) Co. from 19 mainland cities, are scheduled to spend five days and four nights in Taiwan, visiting major cities including Taipei, Hualien and Kaohsiung.

The mass visit is expected to bring tourism revenues worth 1.1 billion New Taiwan dollars (36.99 million U.S. dollars) for the island, according to Gan Chee Eng, president of Amway Greater China.

Taiwan has witnessed a significant increase in mainland visitors since the island was opened to mainland tourists in July 2008.

The mainland was the largest source of tourists for Taiwan last year, with mainlanders accounting for 36 percent of all visitors. More than 2.58 million mainlanders made the trip in 2012.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Thu, Mar 21, 2013 
*Chinese visitors biggest spenders in Taipei: survey*
Taipei Times

Chinese visitors were the biggest contributors to Taipei’s tourism market, spending an average of US$356 per day, followed by tourists from Japan and Singapore who spent US$254 and US$189 respectively, a Taipei City Government survey showed.

Average spending by foreign tourists in Taipei was US$251 per day. Local specialty products, clothing and jewelry were the top three items on foreign travelers’ shopping lists, according to the survey conducted between July and December last year, which polled 1,832 foreign visitors.

Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism Commissioner Chao Hsin-ping (趙心屏) said souvenir shops, such as those that sell pineapple cakes and Taiwanese tea, have thrived thanks to increased spending by foreign tourists.

Republic of China Travel Agent Association secretary-general Roger Hsu (許高慶) said that aside from local specialties, Chinese tour groups also purchased coral products and brand watches, while tourists from Japan, Hong Kong and Macau preferred tea sets and handicrafts.

A closer look at daily consumption by foreign tourists also showed that visitors from Japan, Singapore, the US and Europe were willing to invest more on accommodation, with Japanese visitors spending about US$96 per day, while Chinese tourists only spent US$25.

Hsu agreed with the results of the survey, saying that most Chinese visitors come in tour groups and shopping is a major part of their trips. Visitors from Japan, Singapore and the US, on the other hand, tend to have higher expectations about hotel accommodation.

“As the government plans to increase the number of individual Chinese tourists allowed to visit each day, the consumption habits of Chinese tourists may change in the future,” he said.

At present, Chinese tourists arriving in tour groups are capped at 4,000 people per day, while those arriving as free independent travelers (FIT) are capped at 1,000.

The government plans to increase the number of group Chinese tourists to 5,000 per day and FITs to 2,000.

Of the 6.4 million foreign visitors to Taipei last year, Chinese tourists accounted for 2.5 million, followed by Japanese tourists at 1.3 million.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Quality key to keeping tourism booming: bank*
CNA
April 8, 2013, 12:05 am TWN

TAIPEI--The government should stress the improvements made to inbound travel quality, as the number of Chinese tourists might expand faster this year, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

“Inbound tourism, which Taiwan has long overlooked in favor of manufacturing, is now much more of a government focus because it could transform Taiwan's economy and make its growth less vulnerable to the global technology cycle,” said Marcella Chow, a Hong Kong-based economist at Merrill Lynch.

“However, to ensure that the increasing number of visitors does not become a source of public grievance, like in Hong Kong, in our view it is essential that the government sets sights on enhancing the quality rather than quantity of tourism,” Chow wrote in a recent report.

Based on data compiled by Tourism Bureau, Taiwan had 7.3 million visitors in 2012, a 20.1-percent annual increase compared with the previous year, which surpassed both the global and regional tourism markets by a wide margin.

In 2012, worldwide growth in tourist arrivals is estimated at 3.8 percent, while the Asia-Pacific region, which saw the highest relative growth, expanded 7 percent, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Chow explained that the surge in Chinese tourists to Taiwan, from 1.8 million in 2011 to 2.6 million in 2012, was the main reason for the country's rapid growth in its overall visitor numbers.

Under a quota system, the number of Chinese tourists coming to Taiwan per day is capped at 4,000 group travelers and 1,000 independent tourists.

This April, however, it will be relaxed to 5,000 tourists in groups and 2,000 solo tourists, suggesting that the potential number could expand even faster going forward, Chow said.

“To fully embrace the potential of the tourism boom, the government needs to advance carefully with a well thought out, comprehensive plan,” Chow added.

The economist said Taiwan will need to meet the expectations of international tourists by improving the country's tourism infrastructure and by building unique, high quality tourism products and services, which are key to enhancing competitiveness as a tourist destination.

Policymakers should also ensure that the economic advantages of tourism are shared evenly, Chow said, noting that the rampant price competition between Chinese and local tour operators is lowering the quality of prepaid tour packages.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Taiwan records 4.8% growth in Chinese visitor arrivals in September*
Nov. 1, 2017
_Excerpt_ 

Taipei, Nov. 1 (CNA) Chinese visitor arrivals to Taiwan increased 4.8 percent in September from the same month last year, showing growth for the second consecutive month since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office 17 months ago, according to the latest statistics released by Taiwan's Tourism Bureau.

The data showed that 222,055 Chinese nationals visited Taiwan in September, compared with 211,838 in the same month last year, which represented growth of 4.8 percent.

It was the second month of growth, as Chinese visitor arrivals increased year-on-year in August for the first time during Tsai's presidency.

Despite the growth in September, however, the numbers remained lackluster compared with the 341,991 recorded in September 2015.

Chinese visitor arrivals to Taiwan have decreased since Tsai took office, mainly due to strained cross-Taiwan Strait relations.

In 2016, arrivals from China dropped by an annual 19 percent to 3.47 million.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Playing politics? Chinese tourism under scrutiny as Lunar New Year nears*
Jan. 22, 2017
_Excerpt_ 

SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - With 6 million Chinese tourists expected to travel abroad over the Lunar New Year break, China’s Jan. 27 to Feb. 2 holiday is crucial for Taiwan tour agency operator Li Chi-yueh, who relies on mainland visitors for a third of his revenue.

But Li’s hopes are not high this year, after the number of mainland tourists plummeted 36 percent since President Tsai Ing-wen took power in May. Though Tsai says Taiwan wants peace with China, Beijing suspects she seeks formal independence.

“China uses its sightseeing tourists as a diplomatic weapon,” said Li, owner of Taipei-based Chung Shin Travel Service, who has been representing Taiwan’s tour operators to lobby Tsai to improve ties with Beijing. “There’s a lot of concern that the industry won’t survive if we carry on like this.”

The concern is not confined to Taiwan - tour operators and government officials elsewhere in Asia say they fear China is using its increasingly high-spending tourists as a lever to pressure or reward its neighbors.

A government official from South Korea - which has irked China by agreeing to let the United States deploy an anti-missile system - said Chinese and Korean tour companies had told him the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) had instructed Chinese agencies to cut tours to South Korea by at least 20 percent between November and February.

The official calculated that thousands of potential travelers were lost after eight applications to add charter flights between the countries in January and February were rejected without explanation.

“This is not a win-win situation - it is mutually disadvantageous. But what can we do? As far as defense is concerned, we have no room to compromise,” said the official, declining to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

More : https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...crutiny-as-lunar-new-year-nears-idUSKBN15602Q


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Kinmen sees increased travel via three mini links*
CNA _Excerpt_

Taipei, May 7 (CNA) The travel volume between Taiwan's Kinmen Island and China via the three mini links in the first four months of 2018 grew 3.5 percent year-on-year, according to the Kinmen County government.

It said travel in Kinmen by direct ferry service to and from China's Fujian Province in the four-month period rose to 574,721 passengers, up from 555,480 in the same period of 2017.

Citing National Immigration Agency (NIA) statistics, the county government said in a statement on May 4 that Taiwanese accounted for 57.51 percent of the travel volume, Chinese visitors made up 40.17 percent, and foreign nationals 2.32 percent.

Kinmen's visitor arrivals from China in the January to April period totaled 115,919, an increase of 9.9 percent from the same period in 2017, when the figure was 105,472, the county government said.

The highest single-day number this year was on April 29, at the start of the three-day Labor Day holiday in China, when Kinmen registered 5,512 arrivals, 3,435 of which were from China, the county government said.

Chen Mei-ling (陳美齡), director general of the county's tourism department, attributed the growth in travel volume to the efforts of Kinmen Magistrate Chen Fu-hai (陳福海), who lobbied for the easing of some mini links restrictions by the NIA which took effect Jan. 1.

The measures included lowering the entry permit fees for Chinese citizens on arrival, expediting the application process if they are visiting Kinmen for artistic or business purposes, and removing the requirement for a "G note" detailing the date and purpose of their trips on arrival if they hold a travel permit from Fujian Province, Chen Mei-ling said.

As part of the Taiwan government's efforts to boost arrivals from China, Minister of the Interior Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮) announced on May 1 that Chinese nationals would be allowed to enter Kinmen, Penghu and Matsu via the three mini links for some non-international sports events, with immediate effect.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Kinmen records new high in ferry passenger numbers for July*
_Excerpt_

Taipei, Aug. 9 (CNA) The number of ferry passengers traveling between Taiwan-controlled Kinmen Island and China's Fujian Province set a new monthly high of 170,893 in July, according to the Kinmen County government.

Citing statistics compiled by the National Immigration Agency, the Kinmen authorities said the record high number of arrivals and departures was 22,985 higher than the figure posted a year ago, representing a year-on-year growth of 15.5 percent.

A total of 32,463 Chinese visitors entered Kinmen from China via the ferry services in July, marking an annual increase of 14.8 percent compared with the 28,275 arrivals registered in the same month of the previous year, the Kinmen authorities said.

During the first seven months of this year, a total of 1,052,257 visitors entered and left Kinmen using the ferry services, up 6.1 percent from the year-earlier level of 991,540.

In the January-July period, 207,584 Chinese visitors landed on Kinmen, reflecting an 11.9 percent growth over the year-earlier level of 185,458.

The county's Recreation and Tourism Department attributed the growth in inbound and outbound travelers on the designated ferry routes to a series of summer activities hosted by the county government, such as the 2018 Quemoy International Music Festival and the annual Open Water Swimming Competition between Kinmen and Xiamen, which are popular among young adults and sports aficionados.

In addition, the department said that family tours between Kinmen and Xiamen and summer camps on Kinmen for Chinese students have also helped boost ferry travel between the two sides.


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## Stan-nec (Aug 8, 2018)

I wonder when will China move on Taiwan and make the inevitable annexation a reality?


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Mar 17, 2019 
*Bureau records rise in Chinese visitor numbers*
Taipei Times _Excerpt_

The number of Chinese visitors in January climbed 9.27 percent year-on-year to 238,906, rising for the first time since September last year, Tourism Bureau statistics showed.

Of the nearly 239,000 Chinese visitors, 185,398 were traveling for leisure and 1,115 for business, while the remainder were traveling for other reasons, such as visiting relatives, attending conferences or exhibitions, studying or receiving medical treatment, the bureau said, adding that the number of leisure travelers grew by 4.06 percent year-on-year.

The bureau recorded 867,711 foreign visitor arrivals in January, a slight annual decline of 0.53 percent, the statistics showed.

Visitor numbers from Hong Kong and Macau (100,703), Japan (146,184) and South Korea (116,976) fell by 5.39 percent, 9.71 percent and 9.57 percent year-on-year respectively, they showed.

The number of visitors from Southeast Asia — including Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam — grew to 160,561 in January, an annual increase of just 2.07 percent, the bureau said.

The number of visitors from Vietnam dropped by 20.74 percent compared with January last year, the largest decline among Southeast Asian nations, it said, adding that the number of visitors from Singapore and Malaysia also dropped by more than 7 percent each.

The statistics showed that the number of Russian visitors rose from 646 last year to 1,027 this year, an increase of 58.98 percent.

Huang Cheng-tsung (黃正聰), an associate professor in the tourism department at Taichung’s Providence University, said he expects the number of Russian visitors to continue to rise with the commencement of direct flights between Taiwan and Russian cities Moscow and Vladivostok in May.

January’s growth in Chinese visitors was largely because of an increase in independent travelers, bureau deputy director-general Chang Hsi-tsung (張錫聰) said.

Over the past few years, the bureau has focused efforts at its offices in Beijing and Shanghai on promoting independent travel, he said, adding that the beginning of winter break for Chinese college and university students also contributed to the increase in independent travelers.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Three mini links travelers forecast to top 2 million in 2019*
_Excerpt_

Taipei, July 8 (CNA) The number of people traveling by sea between Taiwan's offshore county of Kinmen and China's Fujian Province is expected to exceed 2 million this year, based on a growing popularity of ferry service between the two sides, Kinmen's Tourism Department said Monday.

In the first half of the year, more than 1.06 million people traveled between Kinmen and Fujian via what are known as the three mini links, an increase of 20.52 percent from a year earlier, according to the department's data.

Taiwanese passengers accounted for 52.64 percent of the travelers, Chinese 45.37 percent, and visitors from other countries 1.99 percent, the data showed.

With Kinmen preparing to launch a series of festivities in July, visitor arrivals via the three mini links are expected to rise sharply, Tourism Department Director Ting Chien-kang (丁健剛) said.

More : http://focustaiwan.tw/search/201907080011.aspx


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*China to halt individual Taiwan tourism permits for 47 mainland cities*

BEIJING, July 31 (Reuters) - China’s culture and tourism ministry said on Wednesday it will stop issuing individual permits for travel to Taiwan for people in 47 mainland cities from Aug. 1 due to the state of relations with the island.

The ministry did not elaborate.

People from the mainland need permission to travel to the self-ruled island that Beijing regards as a renegade province.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Taipei regrets Beijing's ban on independent travel to Taiwan*
_Excerpt_

Taipei, July 31 (CNA) The Presidential Office expressed regret over China's banning of independent travel to Taiwan Wednesday, saying that political motivations have affected normal exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

"We regret such a development triggered by political factors, because it is not helpful to building mutual understanding or boosting exchanges across the strait," the Presidential Office said.

Earlier in the day, China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced on its website that independent trips to Taiwan would be suspended from Thursday, given "the current relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait," sparking the strong response from Taiwan.

This is the first time Beijing has banned individual travelers from visiting Taiwan since such trips were first permitted in June 2011.

Currently, residents of 47 major Chinese cities can apply to visit Taiwan as individual travelers. All others who wish to visit have to apply through selected travel agencies.

The ban is expected to keep 150,000 prospective Chinese independent travelers from visiting Taiwan per month, according to estimates by Taiwanese tourism sources.

More : http://focustaiwan.tw/news/acs/201907310025.aspx


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Outlying island county magistrates in Beijing for travel ban talks*
_Excerpt_

Beijing, Aug. 12 (CNA) The heads of Taiwan's three outlying counties are expected to meet with the Chinese official in charge of Taiwan affairs Monday afternoon to discuss the travel ban imposed by Beijing on independent travelers that started Aug. 1.

Kinmen County Magistrate Yang Cheng-wu (楊鎮浯) together with the heads of Penghu and Lienchiang counties, all three from the opposition Kuomintang, arrived in China Saturday, according to Kinmen County government.

The county magistrates will meet Liu Jieyi (劉結一), director of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, in Beijing Monday, where they will ask China to remove their islands from a recent ban on individual travel by Chinese nationals to Taiwan, a Kinmen county official said.

In a statement released Saturday, Kinmen County Tourism Department said China's announcement that individual travelers from 47 cities on the mainland will be banned from visiting Taiwan starting Aug. 1 has raised concerns in Kinmen over the impact on tourism and related sectors in the county.

As a result, Yang invited his counterparts from Penghu and Matsu to jointly visit Beijing to meet Chinese officials responsible for Taiwan affairs, the statement said.

More : http://focustaiwan.tw/news/acs/201908120005.aspx


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Government might allow Chinese via third countries*
8 August 2019
Taipei Times _Excerpt_

The government is considering the possibility of waiving a travel permit requirement for Chinese tourists arriving in Taiwan through a third nation, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung said yesterday.

Lin made the remark during an inspection of a railroad construction site in Taitung.

Cheng Yueh-tsai, chairman of Taitung-based Papago International Resort, last week said that Chinas suspension of individual visits to Taiwan would cause half of the nations hotels and bed-and-breakfast operators to go out of business.

The suspension would certainly affect Taiwans tourism industry and a solution must be found, Lin said.

The ministry would provide subsidies to domestic travelers for fall and winter tours, he said, adding that it would also roll out a series of promotional campaigns to attract international tourists.

[The suspension] serves as an opportunity to test the soundness of the nations hospitality industry, which has to learn to diversify risk. Through the efforts of the past few years, we have managed to lower the percentage of Chinese tourists to about 25 percent, he said.

The ministry would propose to the Executive Yuan that the government study the possibility of giving tax breaks to hoteliers affected by Chinas policy or helping them secure loans as short-term remedies, Lin said.

More : http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2019/08/08/2003720119


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Government offering new incentives for domestic travel*
_Excerpt_

Taipei, Sept. 6 (CNA) The government on Friday introduced a second round of incentives to encourage domestic travel during the fall-winter period, under a NT$1 billion (US$3.2 million) package to boost tourism, as arrivals from China continued to drop.

"Independent tourists who stay at the hotels participating in the special program put forth by the Tourism Bureau will receive a NT$1,000 voucher for accommodation and up to four coupons per room for night market shopping," the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Central Region Office said Friday.

In a press release, the office said the night market coupons will each be worth NT$50, and the subsidies will be offered during the period Sept. 16 to Dec. 31.

More : http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aeco/201909060007.aspx


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Taiwan ups Chinese visitor curbs, to stop mask exports*
Jan 27, 2020
_Excerpt_

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan on Monday tightened curbs on Chinese visitors to the island amid the coronavirus outbreak and said it will make sure people are not breaking a temporary ban on exporting face masks.

Taiwan, which has close economic and cultural links with China even though political ties are strained, has reported five cases of the coronavirus and has already stopped most Chinese visitors from coming.

More than 80 people have died, all in China.

The government has now extended restrictions on people from China coming to Taiwan to include those who live outside of China and want to come to Taiwan for tourism, though said this does not include Hong Kong and Macau passport holders.

Taiwan has stepped up inspections at airports, asking arrivals to fill out health declaration forms, and has formed a task force to ensure the island can properly deal with the virus.

More : https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...itor-curbs-to-stop-mask-exports-idUSKBN1ZQ1C6


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