Charter flights between China and eastern Taiwan to begin

Tourism Bureau Director-General Janice Lai said at a legislative committee hearing that two nonstop charters are scheduled to fly between Jiangsu and Hualien and another two between Jiangsu and Taitung by the end of the May.

The Hualien airport, one of the gateways authorized to handle direct flights between Taiwan and China, has only received one flight from China — from southern China's Guangzhou in July 2008 — since nonstop charters began that month, complained ruling Kuomintang lawmaker Yang Jen-fu.

Wayne Liu, chief secretary of the Tourism Bureau, said the bureau has reached a consensus with the tourism association of Jiangsu on direct charter flight services to Taiwan's east coast, though some details still need to be ironed out.

“We also suggested that they develop a five-day or six-day itinerary focusing on Hualien and Taitung, instead of planning an eight-day tour around the island,” he said.

Hualien and Taitung have many popular spots, Liu said, including Taroko National Park, Chao Feng Farm, Luye Terrace, the Jhihpen hot springs, and Taitung County's Sansiantai (a group of rocky islets surrounded by coral reefs).

The Tourism Bureau said last month that China is expected to surpass Japan in 2010 as the largest source of foreign visitors to Taiwan.

The bureau has set a target of 1.2 million visits from Chinese nationals, compared to 972,123 Chinese arrivals in 2009.

Nearly 60,000 tourists from Jiangsu visited Taiwan last year, Liu said, but the Chinese province plans to send 100,000 tourists to the island in 2010.

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