Preparations for the resumption of group tour services to the Taiwan region for residents of Fujian Province and Shanghai Municipality are well underway with tourism operators across the Strait striving to plan new routes and provide quality services.
The Chinese mainland will soon resume group tour services to the Taiwan region for residents of Fujian and Shanghai after five years of disruption, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced on Friday.
Many industry insiders in Fujian believe that the proximity of the province to the Taiwan regio provides a special edge for the resumption of group tours.
"As traveling to Taiwan is relatively an important, major business sector of our company, we have communicated with the travel agencies in Taiwan and will introduce some high-quality routes that are more suitable for residents of Fujian and Shanghai," said Zhou Yuqing, deputy general manager of Fuzhou Donkey Mother International Travel Service Co. Ltd.
In Shanghai, where connections with Taiwan have remained closer, local tourism operators are eager for the revival of group tours.
"During our holidays every year, such as the Spring Festival and the National Day, many residents and tourists will ask when they can travel to Taiwan, which shows that this destination is highly anticipated and desired by them," said Zhou Weihong, director of Shanghai Spring International Travel Service Co., Ltd.
Experts suggest that while such development brings benefits to both sides, a full recovery in cross-strait tourism requires the Taiwan authorities to give a positive response to the mainland's announcement, and quickly lift the ban on group tour services at an early date.
"For the tourism sector in Taiwan, the mainland market used to be its largest market and the market with the highest output value. In the past two years, Taiwan's tourism sector, whether in terms of the number of inbound and outbound tourists or the industry in general, has been in a deficit state. The biggest reason for this is the dramatic drop in the number of mainland tourists," said Hu Yong, associate professor at Shanghai University of International Business and Economics.
"We also hope that the Taiwan authorities will face up to the mainstream public opinion and the calls from the industry on the island, lift the 'ban on group tours' as soon as possible, remove travel warnings for visits to the mainland, and fully resume direct passenger flights between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to create favorable conditions for personnel exchanges and exchanges in various fields between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait," said Su Meixiang, director of the Institute of Modern Taiwan at the Fujian Academy of Social Sciences.
Preparations for resumption of group tour services to Taiwan well underway
