Beijing Lifts Matsu Island Travel Ban for Fujian Tourists

Taiwan's outlying Matsu Islands ready to welcome tourists and tourism dollars from China.

Transcript

00:00For the first time in years, tourists from the eastern Chinese province of Fujian will

00:05be able to travel to Taiwan's outlying Mazu Islands, located just 19 kilometers off their

00:10coast.

00:11That's after Beijing announced the end of years of travel bans on Thursday, removing

00:16restrictions on both group and independent travel.

00:20The first visitors from China arrived in Mazu the next day, and Taiwan is preparing to welcome

00:25more.

00:26Starting next month, our Mazu service center will start to operate officially.

00:32The government of Taiwan has always adopted an open attitude, and of course, the key obstacle

00:36is love.

00:37So we hope that the so-called exchange will continue.

00:42Meanwhile, as Chinese tourists eye trips to the Mazu Islands, residents on Taiwan's other

00:47outlying islands, Jingmen, located just two kilometers from China, are also hoping to

00:52soon welcome a wave of holidaymakers.

00:55There should be a chance to come and visit in the near future.

01:00Chinese tourists from mainland China to Jingmen have always been the biggest source of foreign

01:06tourists in Jingmen.

01:07It's been years since Taiwan last hosted Chinese tourists.

01:11China banned independent travel to Taiwan in 2019, citing the poor relationship between

01:16their governments.

01:18Then group travel was suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

01:23For Taiwan's part, its Mainland Affairs Council says they will continue to welcome Chinese

01:28visitors and the tourism dollars they bring to both its main and outlying islands.