Taiwan to allow more individual mainland tourists

Taiwan will lift its daily quota for individual tourists from the Chinese mainland to 4,000 in the first half of 2014, compared with the previous ceiling of 3,000, the local tourism bureau has announced.

The island is also considering increasing the number of mainland cities from which citizens are able to travel to Taiwan as individuals after the Spring Festival, the bureau revealed on Monday.

Currently, only tourists from selected mainland cities, such as Beijing and Chongqing, are allowed to travel across the Taiwan Strait as individuals. There is no limit set on tourists traveling in tour package groups.

The mainland has been the biggest source of Taiwan tourists, according to the bureau, which added that mainland tourists have injected new vigor for the island's economic development.