A delegation representing more than 30 Chinese travel agencies will visit Taiwan later this month to prepare for the opening of Taiwan to Chinese tourism next month, Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) said yesterday.
Chinese tourism operators need to gain an understanding of Taiwan’s market and make the necessary arrangements, Mao said.
The arrangements for the delegation’s visit had been worked out by the Taiwan Strait Tourism and Travel Association and China’s Cross-Strait Tourism Association.
“The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is only providing a platform for travel agents from the two sides to hold dialogue in Taiwan while they are on a market inspection tour here,” Mao said at the launch of the Taiwan Railway Administration’s five-star tourist train, the “Formosa Express.”
Hopefully, delegation members could establish links with their Taiwanese counterparts, including those at city and county levels, during their visit, he said.
When asked about the group’s itinerary in Taiwan, Mao said the opinions of its members must be respected.
The delegation will have almost 80 members.
Janice Lai (賴瑟珍), the director-general of the Tourism Bureau, said the itinerary could not be made public until both the Straits Exchange Foundation and the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait have endorsed the trip.
The bureau also hopes that the first group of tourists coming from China will arrive in Taiwan as projected on July 4, along with the launch of weekend cross-strait charter flights, she said.
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