Taipei,Sept.28,2012(CENS)--During the Oct.1 long holiday of mainland China,from Sept.30 through Oct.7,31,435 mainland Chinese travelers will visit Taiwan,up 63%over the same period last year.Meanwhile,due to the sovereign dispute over Diaoyutai,many mainland Chinese people have canceled their traveling plan for Japan and may switch their destinations to Taiwan after mid-October.As a result,the number of mainland Chinese travelers to Taiwan may top 2 million this year,bringing substantial amount of tourism income.
Chang Hsi-tsung,deputy director general of Tourism Bureau,the Ministry of Transportation and Communications,attributed yesterday(Sept.27)the massive growth of mainland Chinese travelers to the increase of direct cross-Taiwan Strait flights,simplification of the procedure for visiting Taiwan,and permission for non-resident workers in Beijing,Tianjin,Shanghai,Guangzhou,Shenzhen,and Chongqing to directly apply for documents to visit Taiwan in the six cities directly from September.
As of September 26,the number of mainland Chinese travelers to Taiwan had topped 1,320,584,up near 60%than a year earlier.The average amount of mainland Chinese travelers to Taiwan during the eight-day Oct.1 holiday hits 3,929 daily,1,173 more than 2,746 during the same period last year.The number of mainland Chinese travelers on Oct.1 will reach 8,730,the highest.
Chang reported that the number of mainland Chinese travelers topped 10,000 on April 18 this year,a record high.Due to growing number of visitors,the Tourism Bureau has established a mechanism for reporting the number of visitors in advance for tourism spots frequented by mainland Chinese travelers,such as National Palace Museum,Taipei 101,and Tarako Gorge.
The fourth quarter is the busy season for mainland Chinese travelers to visit Taiwan.In view of the near 60%growth in the first nine months,the Tourism Bureau estimated that the number of mainland Chinese visitors to Taiwan may top 2 million this year,220,000 more than last year's 1.78 million,enabling mainland China to retain its status as the largest source of external visitors to Taiwan.
Japan poses as the second largest source of external visitors to Taiwan,with the number of Japanese travelers to Taiwan growing 18.35%year-on-year in the first eight months this year.
