Kinmen this year has drawn more Chinese visitors, who for the first time exceededthe number of Taiwanese visitors, but most stay in the county and do not visit Taiwan proper, the Kinmen County Government said on Friday.
In the first eight months of the year, 755,353 people visited Kinmen, including those transferring to and from Taiwan, up 6 percent from the same period last year, the county said in a statement.
About 480,000 were travelers, including 250,000 from China and 230,000 from Taiwan, the county said, adding that it is the first time that the number of tourists from China exceeded those from Taiwan, despite tensions between the two sides of the Strait.
Kinmen saw an increase in Chinese visitors, even as Taiwan as a whole saw a big drop in Chinese tourists since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in May 2016, due to Beijing’s dissatisfaction over her refusal to endorse the so-called “1992 consensus.”
The “1992 consensus” — a term that former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Beijing that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Last year, 1,085,456 people visited Kinmen, of whom 789,522 were travelers — an increase of 296,549 from 2016 and nearly double the 396,418 in 2015, the county said, citing Tourism Department data.
Many of the visitors were from China.
The county government attributed the growth in visitors, especially those from China, to efforts by Kinmen County Commissioner Chen Fu-hai (陳福海).
Chen has worked hard to promote Kinmen as a tourist destination and attract Chinese travelers to Kinmen, which lies only a few kilometers off China’s Fujian Province, it said.
The number of travelers from China has increased, but the number who go on to Taiwan after visiting Kinmen has dropped, it said.
Kinmen would further improve ferry services between the county and China’s Fujian Province to attract more Chinese tourists, Kinmen Tourism Department Director-General Chen Mei-ling (陳美齡) said, adding that it would continue to build Kinmen into an international holiday destination by showcasing its unique culture.
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