大陸游客爲臺灣數十億美元商機

Taiwan says Chinese tourists have injected more than $3 billion into the Taiwan economy since the island opened its doors to mainland visitors 30 months ago.

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council reported that 1.17 million Chinese visited in organized tour groups in 2010, Almost twice as many as in the previous year. Altogether, 1.82 million tourists have visited Taiwan since it lifted a decades-old ban on mainland visitors in July 2008.

Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou has made closer economic ties with China a hallmark of his administration as a way to ease tensions across the Taiwan Strait while giving a boost to Taiwan's economy.

Beijing and Taipei concluded a major free trade agreement last year that lowered tariffs on hundreds of items, giving a major boost to cross-Strait trade.

臺灣說，自從臺灣2年半以前向中國大陸游客開放旅遊以來，大陸游客給臺灣經濟注入了30多億美元。

臺灣陸委會報告說，在2010年，117萬大陸游客以組團方式到臺灣旅遊，幾乎是前年的兩倍。自從臺灣2008年7月取消實行了幾十年的禁止大陸游客訪臺的禁令以來，總共有182萬大陸游客到訪臺灣。

臺灣總統馬英九把同大陸建立更加緊密的經濟關係作爲他執政的一個特徵，以此作爲緩解海峽兩岸關係的一個途徑，同時提升臺灣的經濟。

北京和臺北去年簽署了一個重大的自由貿易協議，降低了數百種商品的關稅，從而大大的推動了兩岸貿易。