The Tourism Bureau said yesterday that 10 more Chinese cities are to allow their residents to visit Taiwan as free independent travelers (FIT), which is expected to further boost Chinese tourists in the FIT category toward 1 million, a milestone.
The decision was announced by Tourism Bureau Director-General David Hsieh (謝謂君) and Shao Qiwei (邵琪偉), director of China’s National Tourism Administration, following a round-table meeting on cross-strait tourism in Changchun, China, yesterday morning.
Both Taiwan and China have allowed only residents of a limited number of Chinese cities to travel as FITs since 2011. The decision yesterday enlists 10 more Chinese cities: Harbin, Taiyuan, Nanchang, Guiyang, Dailian, Wuxi, Wenzhou, Zhongshan, Yentai and Zhangzhou.
Currently, the program is open to residents of 26 cities, including Shanghai. Residents in the newly added cities are to be able start applying for entry permits to Taiwan on Aug. 18, when the change is to take effect.
Tourism Bureau statistics showed that, as of last month, more than 1.24 million Chinese FITs have entered Taiwan since June 2011.
Hsieh said that more than 500,000 such travelers visited Taiwan in the first half of this year, with an average of 2,785 entering the nation per day.
The number was also twice as much as the same time last year and could potentially hit 1 million this year.
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