3rd anniversary of the trip to Taiwan: Mainland residents brought in more than 3.2 billion U.S. dollars in income to Taiwan

3rd anniversary of the trip to Taiwan: Mainland residents brought in more than 3.2 billion U.S. dollars in income to Taiwan Xinhuanet Three years ago, on July 4, the first group of mainland residents to travel to Taiwan was formed. Nearly 7...

Xinhuanet

Three years ago, on July 4, the first group of mainland residents to travel to Taiwan was organized. Nearly 700 of the first batch of mainland tourists to Taiwan came to Taiwan to enjoy their dream. Three years have passed. As an important channel and platform for cross-strait people-to-people exchanges, mainland residents’ travel to Taiwan has yielded fruitful results.

In terms of numbers, the number of mainland residents traveling to Taiwan increased rapidly from 60,000 in 2008 to 600,000 in 2009 and 1.24 million in 2010. This year, the number is expected to exceed 2 million.

In terms of economic benefits, according to Taiwanese estimates, as of March this year, mainland residents traveling to Taiwan have generated US$3.247 billion in revenue for Taiwan.

In the past three years, the group limit for mainland residents to travel to Taiwan has been changed from 10 people to more than 5 people, and the length of stay in Taiwan has been changed from no more than 10 days to 15 days. Mainland China has gradually expanded its open areas in three batches, and by July 2010 all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities will be open to travel to Taiwan. The number of organized clubs has increased from the initial 33 to the current 164. The Overseas Travel Association and the Taiwan Travel Association established offices in each other in May 2010.

On April 20 this year, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait simultaneously announced the "Key Points of the Cooperation Contract for the Organization of Mainland Residents' Tour Teams to Taiwan", which provides a guarantee for standardizing the order of the tourism market to Taiwan and improving the quality of tourism. In response to the casualties of mainland tourists in Taiwan, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have negotiated with the Taiwan Travel Association through the Overseas Travel Association to establish and improve a cross-strait tourism safety guarantee mechanism.

As of the end of May this year, the number of mainland residents traveling to Taiwan has reached 2.3481 million, and the mainland has become Taiwan's largest source market. Following group tours, individual tours for mainland residents to Taiwan were officially launched on June 28 this year, making mainland residents’ trips to the treasure island more casual and in-depth.

"Visiting to Taiwan has expanded the exchanges and exchanges between people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and strengthened the feelings of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. It has also played a positive role in promoting Taiwan's economic development and has been warmly welcomed by compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait." Yang Yi, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, commented on the results of the trip to Taiwan.

Statistics from Taiwan's tourism department show that in the ranking of overseas tourists' shopping consumption in Taiwan, mainland tourists ranked first with a daily shopping cost of 3,997 yuan (NTD, the same below) per person.

The influence of mainland tourists on Taiwan’s consumer economy can be seen from the “pineapple cake economy”. This traditional pastry that can be seen everywhere in Taiwan has turned into a "little gold brick" due to the favor of mainland tourists: in 2006, Taiwan's annual output value of pineapple cakes was only 1.5 billion yuan. In 2010, the output value had risen to 25 billion yuan, an increase of more than 16 times in five years.

Xu Gaoqing, secretary-general of the Taiwan Federation of Travel Business Associations, said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency reporters on the 4th: "With the continuous improvement of relevant policies and measures, the development of tourism to Taiwan has been moving forward as expected." It is estimated that as tourism to Taiwan expands to individual tourism, the economic benefits it brings will quickly benefit more people's livelihood industries in Taiwan, "allowing more ordinary people to benefit."

Jiang Minqin, a well-known scholar on the island, believes that the process from the "group in and out" three years ago to the vigorous development of group tours and the realization of individual tours today reflects the cultivation and development of mutual trust between people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. With in-depth contact and exchanges, people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait will surely become more harmonious and compatible culturally and psychologically.