TAIPEI, Taiwan – Taiwan may allow residents of 10 more Chinese cities to enter Taiwan for sightseeing, Taipei-based Commercial Times reported Sunday.
Putian in Fujian Province, Xuzhou in Jiangsu Province, Quilin in Guangxi Province and Haikou in Hainan Province may be among the 10 eligible cities, with tourism beginning in the first quarter of 2015 based upon a mutual agreement between the two sides, the report said.
The planned opening of tourism from the 10 Chinese cities is the latest efforts by Taiwan to boost its tourism industry, following a similar move in August last year, when residents from another 10 Chinese cities โ Harbin, Taiyuan, Nanchang, Quiyang, Dalian, Wuxi, Wenzhou, Zhongshan, Yantai and Zhangzhou โ were given permission to visit Taiwan for pleasure trips, according to the report.
Tourist arrivals to Taiwan hit a record high of 9.9 million in 2014, bringing in NT$437 billion (US$13.66 billion) in tourist dollars.
The Tourism Bureau has set a goal of 10.05 million tourists for this year.