By Wu Jiao (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-13 08:22

Taiwan's Sun Moon Lake, its cuisine, tourist attractions and culture have long appealed to people from the mainland.

Sun Yafu (R), vice-chairman of the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, shakes hands with Kao Koong-lian, vice-chairman and secretary-general of the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation, during talks at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse June 12, 2008 on weekend charter flights. [China News Service]

As cross-Straits relations warm, more and more people are looking forward to visiting this "treasure island", but the travel agents who can take them there are saying they are not yet ready.

According to the Nanfang Daily, more than 15,000 people in Guangzhou have enquired about trips with two travel agents, supposedly authorized by national tourism authorities to organize Taiwan tours, the first of which is supposed to happen on July 4.

"I subscribed last week, but the travel agency told me to wait for confirmation," the paper quoted a man surnamed Guo as saying.

"The tour is so attractive that more than five people called for information while I was at the agency," Guo said.

The cost of the eight to 10 day tour will be about 10,000 yuan ($1,450), local media said.

However, travel agencies across the country have said they are still waiting for further instructions from tourism authorities, and that the tour has yet to be confirmed.

The National Administration of Tourism said the government has yet to release the first batch of travel agents eligible to organize the tour, and the list will be made public only after the upcoming talks between the mainland-based Association of Relationship Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and the island-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF).

Lin Kang, deputy general manager of the outbound tourism department with China International Travel Service, said the administration has invited about 30 mainland travel agents to visit Taiwan for business later this month, but that does not mean they will all be part of the first batch of tour organizers.

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