The National Tourism Administration of China recently announced several new policies to make it more convenient for people from various provinces to visit Taiwan from Fujian. Cross-strait self-drive tourism associations have also signed an agreement, with each side selecting 10 premium self-drive routes to gradually promote self-drive tourism. Mainland China will provide exclusive maintenance and repair services for “Taiwan vehicles entering Fujian.” Industry insiders say both sides look forward to better development in self-drive tourism.
The National Tourism Administration of China released several new policies in April this year, including expanding the openness of travel agencies and supporting the tourism industry in the Fujian Free Trade Pilot Zone. These include allowing branches of Fujian-based Taiwan-bound tour operators established in Pingtan to assist non-Fujian residents in applying for Taiwan Travel Permits and group tourist endorsements through qualified travel agencies to the Pingtan public security authorities’ entry and exit management department, among three new measures.
Facilitating Mainland tourists’ visits to Taiwan
Beyond the multiple policies facilitating travel from the mainland to Taiwan, interactions between cross-strait self-drive tourism associations have also heated up. “We have also signed the ‘Cross-Strait Self-Drive Tourism Strategic Cooperation Agreement’ with them, hoping to strengthen cross-strait self-drive tourism exchanges this year,” said Li Hongliang, chairman of the Taiwan Self-Drive Tourism Association, on the 8th. The Taiwan Self-Drive Tourism Association has made three trips to Fujian and Zhejiang in 2015 and this year for self-drive tours. The latest plan is for next month, with an estimated 20-plus Taiwan vehicles taking the COSCO STAR direct ferry to Xiamen and embarking on an 8-day self-drive tour.
Providing maintenance and servicing
Li Hongliang said that on the 6th of this month, when he signed an agreement with the Fujian Self-Drive Tourism Special Committee, both sides also decided to jointly design 10 premium routes each in Taiwan and Fujian, promoting and marketing these top-tier self-drive routes. The latest development is that Southeast Motor Company in mainland China has decided to join the “Taiwan Vehicles Entering Fujian” tourism service, providing future maintenance and servicing for Taiwan vehicles traveling to the mainland for self-drive tours, making it safer for Taiwanese to drive to the mainland for travel.
“Fujian is the closest and most convenient place for people from both sides of the strait to travel. We look forward to even busier exchanges in the future,” said a shipping industry operator involved in direct cross-strait ferries. Currently, the three direct passenger ferries between the two sides are the LINA, traveling from Taipei Harbor to Pingtan; the KAIHANG, from Taipei and Taichung Harbors to Pingtan; and the COSCO STAR, from Keelung and Taichung Harbors to Taizhou’s Damaiyu in Zhejiang and Xiamen. He looks forward to better developments this year.