The number of Chinese tourists arriving in Taiwan has seen a slight uptick in the first few days of March. That’s according to Cabinet spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun.
On Thursday, Sun addressed rumors that Chinese authorities plan to set limits on the number of tourists allowed to visit Taiwan. Concerns have been spurred on by a drop in the number of Chinese group tours arriving in Taiwan that began in the run-up to January’s general election.
Chinese officials allegedly claim that a lack of paper for documents and the need for software upgrades mean that they will have to cut down on the number of travel permits they issue for Taiwan. Tour operators and hotel owners are concerned that the rumored curb on travel to Taiwan could take effect after March.
In his remarks, Sun said that if the timing of the rumored paper shortages and software updates would be “quite a coincidence” if true. Sun said that a number of agencies in charge of cross-strait relations and cross-strait tourism are in contact with Chinese officials to discuss these rumors.
At the same time, Sun said that while the number of group tours has continued to fall into March, there has been a modest rise in the number of independent Chinese travelers arriving in Taiwan.
Sun said that at the moment, all discussion of limits on Chinese tourism to Taiwan is speculation. He said that the truth of the matter will only become clear after March.