China News Service, Taipei, March 2nd (Reporter Yang Chengchen) March 1st was the first day that people were allowed to travel to the mainland for a "limited time" after the Taiwan authorities issued a "group ban order". About 50 groups organized by several travel agencies , more than a thousand people traveled.
An industry insider told a reporter from China News Service on the 2nd that many people were worried that they would not be able to organize groups after June this year, and some passengers took the initiative to coordinate and change their departure date to before June.
Recently, the number of people inquiring about traveling to mainland China has increased.
On the eve of the Lunar New Year, the Taiwan authorities’ tourism authorities suddenly changed their policies and stopped Taiwanese people’s group tours to the mainland that were originally scheduled to open after the holiday. Only tourists who have completed the registration procedures are allowed to travel in groups from March to the end of May, and the operators are ordered to do so from March to the end of May. Group travel tickets will no longer be sold.
According to Taiwan's "United Daily News" on the 2nd, Lion Travel and Coke Travel were the main travel agencies responsible for the group travel to the mainland on the first day. These two travel agencies organized nearly 50 groups to set off on the 1st, with a total number of nearly 1,000 people. , popular destinations include Jiuzhaigou, Chongqing, and Zhangjiajie.
Some tourists from the "first tour group" expressed the hope that the Taiwan authorities will loosen the "ban on group tours" as soon as possible, which is a good thing for positive cross-strait interaction.
In an interview with a reporter from China News Service on the 2nd, Wu Yanhui, vice chairman of the Taiwan Travel Business Association, said that the actual number of group travelers should be more than 1,000.
Many people know that the "Group Ban" limits group travel until June, and they are very anxious.
A considerable number of them will advance their itinerary with the help of travel agencies.
In addition, according to Coke Travel, some tourists choose to travel to the mainland through "individual travel".
"The two sides of the Taiwan Strait are connected in culture, language and other aspects, and there are almost no travel barriers for Taiwanese people to travel to the mainland." Wu Yanhui said that middle-aged and elderly people like to participate in mainland group tours.
"We still have to actively fight to prevent group tours from being discontinued. Consumers also hope that group tours will continue."
According to Taiwan media reports, the head of a travel industry association said that he will visit the legislative body of the Taiwan authorities in the near future, hoping that he will come forward to communicate and negotiate with the administrative authorities on the lifting of the "ban on group tours".
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