Government and Policy

Individual travel to Taiwan to be allowed in June

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-06-08 22:53

TAIPEI - Tourists from selected cities of the Chinese mainland will be able to travel across the Taiwan Straits as individual tourists by the end of June, said a senior mainland negotiator here on Wednesday.

Tourism associations on both sides still need time to finalize the technical details and exchange documents before the policy officially takes effect, said Zheng Lizhong, vice president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS).

He did not give the exact date when the policy would take effect but said it would be "very soon" and within this month.

Zheng made the statement after a meeting between ARATS and its Taiwan counterpart Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF).

Since July 2008, mainland tourists have been allowed to travel to the island but only in tour packages.

The daily number of mainland tourists to Taiwan increased from 300 people in 2008 to 3,200 in 2010.

The policy to let in individual tourists is expected to attract more high-end tourists, benefit small local businesses and tourist sites that have so far been out of regular sightseeing routes by travel agencies.

Besides the issue of individual travelers, the two sides agreed to improve the supervision over the tourism industry and increase efforts to protect tourists' safety.

Negotiators from the two sides held a meeting to review the implementation of cross-Strait agreements and address challenges.