Visitors to island meet travel target despite H1N1, slowdown

More than 600,000 tourists from the Chinese mainland visited Taiwan last year, fulfilling expectations despite the impact of H1N1 flu and the global economic downturn.

A total of 606,100 mainland tourists visited Taiwan in the past year, with each spending nearly $1,800 on the island, including accommodation and shopping, Shao Qiwei, chairman of the Beijing-based Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits, said on Friday.

"We see good cooperation between tourism industries across the Straits taking shape," Shao said.

Since July 2008, when Taiwan first opened to mainland tourists, about 660,000 mainland tourists have visited the island and spent $1.13 billion there, benefiting local transportation as well as the retail, entertainment and health industries.

Popular shopping places among the tourists include watch shops, the Taipei 101 mall, teashops in Mount Ali, and Eslite bookstores.

"Years of isolation between the two sides have made Taiwan an attractive place for mainland tourists," said Zheng Lijuan, deputy general manager of CITS International MICE Co Ltd.

But under the impact of H1N1 flu since May, the number of mainland tourists to Taiwan had also dropped sharply, leading to industry insiders casting doubt as to whether the goal of attracting 600,000 mainland tourists to Taiwan in 2009 could be achieved.

Despite the unfavorable conditions, a string of relaxed rules last year have spurred the interest of mainland tourists in visiting Taiwan.

In the past year, Taiwan has opened to mainland residents in 25 provinces, up from the initial 13 provinces. Relaxed rules have also allowed five tourists to form a group to visit Taiwan, instead of the initial requirement of at least 10 tourists. Mainland tourists can also stay in Taiwan for a maximum of 15 days, instead of the initial 10 days.

Combined with mainland business groups, more than 900,000 mainland travelers visited Taiwan in 2009, Christine Lai, director of the Taiwan Strait Tourism Association, told China Daily.

Without releasing the goal for this year, Lai expressed hopes that mainland tourists would head to Taiwan on second or even third visits.

"We will assist mainland tour agencies to open tours that target elite groups in mainland cities aged between 30 and 40 to explore Taiwan," Lai said.