Taiwan is expected to allow one-third more Chinese tourists visit the nation next year, local media reported yesterday, ahead of a fresh round of talks between the two sides.
Currently, up to 3,000 Chinese tourists are allowed to visit Taiwan each day, but that quota is expected to be increased to 4,000 from next month to meet strong demand, the Liberty Times reported, citing an unnamed tourism official.
Officials from the Mainland Affairs Council were not immediately available for comment.
Tourism operators welcomed the reported move and called on the government to further relax restrictions.
“The government should raise the daily quota to 5,000,” said Roger Hsu (許高慶), the chief secretary to the Travel Agent Association of Taiwan, which promotes tourism in the nation. Such a level was promised by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) before the 2008 presidential election.
Hsu said Taiwan’s existing tourism facilities such as hotels and buses were more than able cope with a daily quota of that size.
Chinese tourists have made 1.13 million visits to Taiwan so far this year.
Authorities have said tourism grew faster than anywhere else in Asia last year, largely due to the influx of visitors from China.
The report came one day before China’s top negotiator, Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), flies to Taipei for the sixth round of talks since 2008.
Chen, the head of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, is scheduled to hold talks with Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) tomorrow, officials said.
Ties have improved markedly since Ma came to power in 2008, with the two sides resuming routine high-level direct unofficial talks and adopting various measures to boost trade and tourism.
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