On Tuesday (Mar 14) China Comfort Travel Co. Ltd. becomes the first travel agency in the Chinese mainland to visit Taipei, where the company's administration will discuss prospects for facilitating mainland tourists to visit Taiwan, along with an increase in direct cross-straits flights.

A recent survey shows that around 87% of mainland residents are interested in traveling to Taiwan. The current limitations on direct flights, however, have prevented them from visiting the island at will, in addition to complicated official procedures they have to undergo before they can make the trip.

These restrictions have also caused headaches for Taiwan-based tour operators in their efforts to attract clients from the Chinese mainland.

Before 1995, there were virtually no mainland tourists in Taiwan. Over the past decade, the total number of mainlanders traveling to Taiwan for various purposes has amounted to less than 200,000, of which only a mere 1,400 are tourists.

The disparity between cross-straits tourism exchanges is obvious. According to the China National Tourism Administration, in 2005 alone, 4.1 million Taiwan compatriots visited the Chinese mainland, an 11.5% increase over the previous year.

Currently, around 30,000 mainland residents visit Taiwan every year. As the quantity and desire of mainland residents to visit Taiwan increases over the years, there is considerable potential for boosting Taiwan's tourism as well as other industries. For instance, a mainland tourist can spend an average of NT$38,000 during an 8.6-day trip to Taiwan, and the time spent in Taipei City averages 1.94 nights. According to these statistics, if 300,000 people visited Taipei each month, it would bring the city a monthly income of over NT$2.5 billion, totaling more than NT$30 billion per year.

The Beijing-based China Comfort Travel Co. Ltd. was founded in 1984. It is one of the largest Chinese travel agencies with registered capital of over 100 million Yuan. Its service range covers exit and entry tours and domestic travel. The company now has over 70 subsidiaries operating across the country.

Editor: Wing