[Life] Taiwan and China to Establish Counterpart Travel Offices

Under the conditions of the "Cross-Strait Agreement on Travel to Taiwan by Mainland Residents" that was signed in June last year, the Taiwan Strait Tourism Association (for the Taiwan side) and the Cross-Straits Tourism Exchange Association (for the Chinese side) simultaneously submitted applications to set up travel offices in China and Taiwan, respectively, on October 20. These travel offices should bring improved travel quality and stimulate the continued growth of tourist travel. The Tourism Bureau reports that a total of 680,000 Chinese residents visited Taiwan in the first nine months of this year, for a growth of 207% over the same period of 2008, and that with such intensive travel across the Taiwan Strait, the time is ripe for the establishment of reciprocal travel offices.

The Taiwan Strait Tourism Association plans to set up its first office in mainland China, in Beijing, in early February next year. It will initially have a staff of 10 persons. According to the Tourism Bureau, its Beijing office will work aggressively to market Taiwan as a tourist destination and expand the Chinese market for Taiwan tourism.