Mainland to resume group tour services for Fujian, Shanghai residents to Taiwan

The Chinese mainland will soon resume group tour services for residents of Fujian and Shanghai to Taiwan, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) on Friday, which Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said is a concrete measure addressing the shared aspirations of people on both sides of the Straits to enhance exchanges.

This decision reflects the common desire of people in the Taiwan region for peace, development, communication, and cooperation, and the mainland supports and welcomes this initiative, Chen said on Friday.

The remarks were in response to the media question regarding the announcement made by the MCT on Friday in which it says that the Chinese mainland will soon resume group tour services for residents of Fujian and Shanghai to Taiwan region.

Chen expressed hope that the island's Democratic Progressive Party authorities would acknowledge mainstream public opinion and the voices of the industry in the Taiwan region, promptly lift the "ban on group tours," remove travel warnings for people from the Taiwan island visiting the mainland, and fully restore cross-Straits direct passenger flights and destinations. "This would create favorable conditions for personnel exchanges and cross-Straits interactions in various fields," the spokesperson noted.

The plan for resuming group tour services is to further promote the normalization of cross-Straits people-to-people exchanges and the regularization of exchanges in various fields, and in response to the strong expectations of the grassroots population and the tourism industry in the island of Taiwan, as well as to enhance the welfare and interests of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, according to the MCT on Friday.

Relevant preparations are underway, and it is hoped that the tourism industries on both sides will strengthen communication and coordination, providing high-quality services and products for group tours to Taiwan island for mainland residents, the MCT said.