The number of sightseeing trips to Taiwan by Chinese citizens is far lower than expected after the two sides of the Taiwan Strait reached an agreement in mid-June on opening Taiwan up to more Chinese tourists, a Shanghai daily reported on its Web site yesterday.
The Workers’ Daily reported that just over 21,000 Chinese tourists have visited Taiwan since the agreement, which was signed by the heads of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation, formally took effect on July 18.
The figure represents only 28 percent of the maximum number of Chinese tourists allowed to visit Taiwan under the agreement — which the paper said established a quota of 1,000 tourists per day.
In fact, the deal allowed up to 3,000 tourists per day, and it was unclear if the newspaper simply made a mistake or was reflecting an official decision by Beijing to limit visits to Taiwan.
The low numbers have been a disappointment to President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, which had hoped more arrivals from China could spur the stagnant local tourism sector.
The report provided insight to why tourist numbers have fallen below expectations.
A travel agent in Shanghai told the newspaper that high costs and many restrictions have discouraged Chinese citizens from choosing tours to Taiwan.
He said that the price of a tour to Taiwan is as high as 12,000 yuan (US$1,760), which is comparable to taking a trip to Europe.
The fact that the cheapest tour to Taiwan costs an average of about US$80 per day has led many Chinese citizens to opt for other destinations, he said.
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