Only 169,159 Chinese tourists have visited Lienchiang (Matsu) and Kinmen counties this year, compared with more than 2.3 million Taiwanese visiting China, as Beijing’s ban on Chinese nationals visiting Taiwan proper continues, data showed.
According to Mainland Affairs Council data, 2.77 million Taiwanese visited China last year, and about 2.34 million visited from January to September this year.
From March last year to September this year, Taiwanese travel agencies organized tours to China for 25,000 people.
Photo: Reuters
Taiwan from September 2023 have allowed Chinese living outside of China to visit Taiwan as tourists.
A total of 116,000 such tourists came to Taiwan last year, and 96,000 came from January to September this year.
In addition, Chinese residing in China made 43,578 visits to Kinmen and Lienchiang last year, increasing to 169,159 visits this year up to September, data showed.
Although the government bans organized tour groups from visiting China, some domestic travel agencies sell packages to independent travelers or lead groups to China under the pretext of religious exchange or visiting relatives, a person familiar with the matter said yesterday.
These are mostly organized by smaller agencies, which hope the government does not lift the ban so that they do not have to compete with large agencies, the source said.
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