Taipei to host cross-strait travel industry forum

Taipei – Travel industry representatives from both sides of the Taiwan Strait will gather in Taipei for the first time from Feb. 26-27 to discuss market development and to allow greater familiarity with the Taiwan market, a spokesman for the Travel Quality Assurance Association (TQAA) said Thursday.
The TQAA, which organized the 12th Cross-Strait Travel Industry Forum, is hoping that more than 1,000 representatives will participate in the meeting, said TQAA Secretary-General Chen I-chuan.

“As most of the restrictions on visits to Taiwan by Chinese tourists have been lifted, we hope to introduce the Taiwan travel market to our Chinese counterparts,” explained Chen.

According to Chen, Shao Qiwei, chairman of China’s National Tourism Administration, will attend the forum in his capacity as chairman of the Cross-Strait Tourism Exchange Association and is scheduled to meet with his Taiwanese counterpart, Janice Lai, director-general of the Tourism Bureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.

Shao will be accompanied by delegates from 16 Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, and more than 400 members of China’s travel industry, Chen added.

Taiwan will be represented by officials from 13 city and county governments and 400 delegates from the local travel industry, he said.

The TQAA will arrange for the Chinese delegation to travel to scenic areas around Taiwan to get firsthand look at Taiwan’s tourism resources before they return to China March 4, Chen added.

In the past, similar meetings of travel industry representatives from both sides of the Taiwan Strait have been held in different provinces in China so that the Taiwanese delegations could gain a better understanding of the vast Chinese market which typically attracts large numbers of Taiwan tourists each year.