Efforts called for boosting cross-Straits tourism

XIAMEN - A Chinese mainland tourism official on Friday called for more to be done to increase the number of Taiwan-bound tourists.

To encourage individual visitors to Taiwan's Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu islands, mainland authorities in the coastal regions should improve public facilities and services to facilitate tourists. They should also simplify the customs clearance process, Du Jiang, deputy director of the National Tourism Administration, said at a seminar of tourism officials.

Residents in 20 mainland cities in Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces west of the Taiwan Strait are allowed to visit ?Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu islands as independent tourists.