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China sends top tourism officials to Taiwan

Posted on: Friday, 28 October 2005, 05:57 CDT

By Alice Hung

TAIPEI (Reuters) - China's top official in charge of tourism began a 10-day visit to Taiwan on Friday, fuelling hopes the trip could open the floodgates for Chinese tourists to visit the island Beijing claims as its own.

Shao Qiwei, head of China's National Tourism Administration, led a 66-member delegation to see tourist spots around the island, including the tranquil Sun Moon Lake, the misty Alishan mountain range and the steep Taroko Gorge.

"I am here for sight-seeing and to feel the environment, experience the history, culture and religions," said Shao, who was greeted at the airport by hosts from Taiwan's tourism industry. "I hope to bring high-quality tourists to Taiwan."

While the Taiwan government has said no official negotiations will take place during their tour, hopes are high that it can be a major step toward ushering in Chinese tourists -- a potent economic force, as evident in nearby Hong Kong.

"We hope negotiations can proceed as soon as possible after they leave," Joseph Wu, chairman of Taiwan's policy-making Mainland Affairs Council, said earlier this week.

China has restricted visits by its citizens to Taiwan since 1949, when the Nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek fled to the island at the end of a civil war. A limited number of mainlanders are now able to travel to Taiwan, mostly on business.

Beijing first offered to let mainland tourists visit Taiwan in May and called for negotiations with Taipei on the details.

Taiwan has its own tough rules restricting mainland visitors and bans direct air links on grounds of national security.

The independence-leaning government of President Chen Shui-bian has cautiously welcomed Beijing's offer, saying the island could accommodate 1,000 Chinese tourists a day and might allow the tourists to stay for up to 10 days.

Investors, anticipating a visitor boom, have pushed up the shares of major hotels. Taiwan's tourism sub-index has risen 30 percent since May, outperforming the overall market's 2 percent fall, and some analysts say tourism shares are overvalued, trading at price/earnings ratios of 20 or 30 times.

TOURISM BOOM?

The government has appointed a private tourism association to handle talks with Chinese counterparts as Beijing refuses to deal with the Chen government because of its stance on independence.

Chinese tourists have proven an economic force in Hong Kong, boosting retail sales since Beijing relaxed rules on travel to the former British colony in 2003.

But their impact may not be as significant in Taiwan, where tourism accounts for less than 3 percent of the economy. Some analysts estimate Chinese tourists can add at least US$660 million or 0.2 percent, to Taiwan's US$330 billion economy.

"In the best-case scenario, mainland tourists will boost hotel occupancy to 80 percent from 65 percent," said analyst Chang Wan-chen of MasterLink Securities Investment Advisory.

Taiwan also hopes that giving Chinese tourists a taste of the island's free-wheeling democracy will improve often rocky ties.

"What's important for the cross-strait relations is that when there are people who have a chance to visit Taiwan, they are going to understand Taiwan better," Wu said.

China has said people from Taiwan made 3.7 million trips to the mainland in 2004, while only 145,000 Chinese visited Taiwan.

(With additional reporting by Judy Lin)

Source: REUTERS

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