Taiwan travel agencies to better serve mainland tourists

TAIPEI - Taiwan's tourism regulatory authority said on Monday that it will adopt new rules for travel agencies to improve the quality of services for Chinese mainland tourist groups.

The new rules, which are expected to take effect from May, require Taiwanese travel agencies to restrict the time for daily tour activity to less than 12 hours and limit stopover times for self-managed shopping arranged by the travel agency when serving mainland tourist groups.

The rules also specify catering standards for mainland tourist groups, according to the regulatory authority, which has also vowed to enhance inspections to ensure the rules are properly implemented.

The mainland was the largest source of tourists for Taiwan last year, with mainlanders accounting for 36 percent of all visitors to the island. Statistics show that more than 2.58 million mainlanders visited Taiwan in 2012.