Bring 'em on!
2003: Mainland China becomes the number-one source country for tourists visiting countries in Asia.
2004: Mainland China signs a tour-group agreement with 12 EU countries. The fact that Europe is distant and expensive does not deter newly wealthy Chinese. Average spending per mainland Chinese tourist in France is US$3000, three times higher than the average for visitors from other European countries.
2005: Mainland Chinese make 31 million trips abroad. Their top ten destinations are Hong Kong, Macao, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, Russia, Thailand, the USA, Singapore, and Malaysia. Except for the States, all are close-by Asian neighbors. Hong Kong accounts for 13.52 million of these journeys, and Macao for another 8.47 million, so that the two destinations combined account for 71% of all trips. Total spending by Chinese on overseas travel is US$21.8 billion, seventh highest in the world.
In contrast to these countries, Taiwan has been left out of this mainland tourism craze because of the political enmity between the two sides over the past eight years. But now, Taiwan, sharing the same language and ethnicity, and separated by only a strait, is positioning itself to earn mainland Chinese tourist dollars. Now that there has been a thaw between the two sides, in June the two "unofficial" bodies that handle contacts between mainland China and Taiwan-the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) and the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF)-reached an agreement allowing, for the first time, mainland tour groups to travel directly to Taiwan. (Previously mainland Chinese tourists could visit Taiwan only through third countries, and numerous restrictions kept the numbers to a minimum.)
In early July, the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing conducted a phone survey of the preferences of a sample of residents of that city about their attitudes toward travel to Taiwan. Of the 1000 valid interviews, an amazing 62% of respondents expressed a desire to visit Taiwan, with 14% saying they would like to visit right away this year and another 14% saying they would like to visit next year .
Another question asked respondents where they would choose to go among Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan if they were allowed to choose freely. Hong Kong and Taiwan were each chosen by one-third of the respondents; only 5% opted for Macao and another 22% answered "not sure."
As pointed out in a special travel guide to Taiwan published in Shanghai in July by Zhang Mingqing, the vice-chairman of ARATS: "For mainland Chinese compatriots, Taiwan is a treasure island with a dreamlike unreality, but they do not understand her in a complete way. Finally, under the rays of the early summer sun, the frozen-over Taiwan Strait is turning into abundant spring waters." The opening up of travel to Taiwan for mainland tourists will show Taiwan's true features, after 400 years of being cut off by the imperial ban on sea travel, colonialism, and the Chinese Civil War.
Now the question becomes: What will Taiwan's tourism industry, which has been waiting with such anticipation for this development for so long, do to attract mainland travelers?
Yao Ta-kuang, chairman of the Travel Agent Association of Taiwan, points out that Taiwan is safe, offers convenient transportation (both Taipei and Kaohsiung have metro systems), has great food and stylish coffee shops, and, with every kind of boutique imaginable, offers shopping that can match that in Hong Kong. "Last year mainland Chinese made 40 million trips abroad. If even just 1 million of them come to Taiwan, we can keep the industry going for generations," he says, bubbling with confidence.
Even these prospects are not ambitious enough for some. "Macao is only the size of Yungho City in Taipei County, but last year drew 27 million visitors, 15 million from mainland China alone. Based on Ma Ying-jeou's campaign promise to allow 10,000 mainland tourists per day to enter Taiwan within four years, that would only be 3.65 million in a year. So the pace of opening up is still way too slow!" argues Eric Wu, director of the Taiwan Tour Guide Association. Taiwan could also develop the gambling industry as Macao has done, and in fact Penghu, Miaoli, Nantou and Chiayi are all trying to get permission to set up casinos. If gambling is legalized, there will be even more to attract mainland travelers.
"Taiwan is rich in natural beauty. In the morning you can see the sun rise over the Pacific Ocean, and in the afternoon be in the mountains to gaze at the sea of clouds. So much diversity within a few hours is really enticing. In fact, there is so much to see that, when you consider that it still isn't that easy for mainlanders to come to Taiwan, people will want to see everything in one trip. Right now only tour groups are allowed, not individual travelers, so that visitors be limited to eight- or ten-day itineraries. The result will be a situation like it was when Taiwanese tourists visited Europe 15 years ago, seeing 15 countries in ten days. Tourism in the first phase will have a 'grand tour' character of racing through sites one after another," says Todd Hsiao, director of ezTravel, Taiwan's largest online tour company.