A symposium concerning ways to improve the trips of Hubei residents traveling in Taiwan and also regulations for such trips, was held in Wuhan city, capital of Hubei province, on Oct 14.

Representatives of the Hubei Provincial Public Security Bureau, Hubei Provincial Tourism Administration, and 10 Wuhan travel agencies that run Taiwan tours attended the symposium.

Since 2008, when it became possible for Chinese mainland residents to visit Taiwan, about 250,000 tourists from Hubei have traveled to the island, and 870,000 Taiwan residents have visited Hubei. There are now 10 Hubei travel agencies that offer Taiwan tours, as opposed to only one back in 2008.

A few cities, including Wuhan, received permission to run individual travel to Taiwan this year, and the meeting participants discussed the policies and regulations. The travel agencies shared their experiences of running group tours and made suggestions concerning the development of individual travels.

Li Kaishou, deputy director of the Hubei Provincial Tourism Administration, encouraged the travel agencies to be "politically responsible" in running Taiwan tours and to strictly follow the relevant policies and laws, so as to play a positive role in the development of cross-Straits relations.

He said that the local authorities should further strengthen the management and the regulation of the Taiwan tours, so as to offer tourists a better travel experience.

Liu Kaichun, the director of the Hubei Provincial Taiwan Affairs Office, gave the final speech at the end of the symposium. He emphasized the responsibilities of the relevant departments, and their obligation to follow the tourism regulations and policies, and he also called for new coordination systems for the Taiwan tours to be set up as soon as possible.

Edited by Niva Whyman and Le Qin