The tourism administrations on the Chinese mainland will
continue to promote cross-Straits tourism in a bid to enable the
mainland residents to visit Taiwan as soon as possible.
Liu Kezhi, a senior official with the National Tourism
Administration, made the remarks at a regular press conference held
by the Taiwan Affairs
Office of the State Council on Friday.
"The mainland is ready to send tourists to Taiwan," Liu
said.
"We expect the Taiwan side to make arrangements as soon as
possible so both sides can work together to open a new chapter for
cross-Straits exchange and cooperation in the field of tourism,"
Liu added.
The mainland will again invite representatives from the Taiwan
tourism industry to join the second Cross-Straits Tourism Expo,
which is to be held in Xiamen next September, and the eighth China
International Travel Mart in Shanghai, planned for November
2006.
Tourism administrations on the mainland will also encourage
local tourism sectors to promote their tourism schemes at the
cross-Straits tourism expo in Taipei in November 2006, according to
Liu.
The Chinese central government permitted mainland residents to
tour Taiwan last May for the first time since 1949, when the
mainland and the island province were separated by a civil war. A
mainland tourism inspection delegation visited Taiwan for nine days
late last year.
Shao Qiwei, head of the China Tourism Association and also head
of the delegation, said before leaving the island that the tourism
administrations and all relevant parties on the mainland welcome
non-government tourism organizations from Taiwan's tourism industry
to start consultations with their mainland counterparts as soon as
possible.
"We hope to see a wholesome and orderly development of
cross-Straits tourism exchanges in the near future so as to achieve
a mutually beneficial result for both sides," Liu said.
Cross-Straits
Tourism Booming in 2005
(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2006)??
