Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday.
Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year.
Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said.
Photo: Taipei Times
The report criticized the government for being indecisive in cross-strait tourism affairs, causing Taiwanese to spend more time and money transferring flights when traveling in China.
The report was published ahead of the Taipei-Shanghai Twin-Cities Forum in Shanghai, which is scheduled to take place on Friday and Saturday next week.
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) is reportedly leading the delegation to Shanghai.
Many Taiwanese travel agencies hoped for a breakthrough in cross-strait tourism this year. Last year, Shanghai Vice Mayor Hua Yuan (華源) said the city would promote group tours to Taiwan among its residents.
Such a pledge has yet to materialize.
The Tourism Administration in a statement said that it has been seeking opportunities to communicate with China since February, but to no avail.
“As cross-strait tourism has been suspended for a few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we believe that both sides need to first negotiate over issues related to safety, quality, stability and fairness of cross-strait tourism to ensure that it can proceed in a healthy and orderly fashion,” it said.
The negotiations, which would be conducted between the Taiwan Strait Tourism Association (TSTA) and China’s Cross-Strait Tourism Association (CSTA) — quasi-official organizations — could facilitate the implementation of a cross-strait tourism policy, it said.
Despite the lack of response from Beijing, the Tourism Administration said that Taiwan has already allowed Chinese nationals working, studying or living in Hong Kong, Macau or other countries with permanent residency to visit Taiwan since 2023.
Chinese tourists are allowed to visit Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties via the “small three links,” it said.
“While Taiwan continues to welcome Chinese tourists, our positions remain that the recovery of cross-strait tourism should proceed in a healthy and orderly fashion, so that Taiwanese can safely travel in China and that practical matters related to group tours to and from China must be negotiated between the TSTA and CTSA,” it said.
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