Twenty-one Taiwanese travel agencies last week came to Beijing to take part in the Beijing International Tourism Expo (BITE) 2006 to promote their travel products. This is the first time that they have promoted their travel services on such a large scale.

These Taiwanese travel agencies rented an entire exhibition hall where they set up more than 70 platforms to display their products that are specially designed for mainland tourists.

A representative of the exhibition says that in the past, tourists from the the mainland only knew several traditional scenic spots in Taiwan such as Ali Shan and Ri Yue Tan. But now these travel agencies have brought more travel products that feature the folk culture and holiday resorts in Taiwan.

Statistics show that there are about 1000 mainland tourists going to visit Taiwan each day. In order to ensure the safety of these tourists, travel associations in Taiwan will choose travel agencies who have been engaged in the mainland travel service for over 5 years to accept tourists from the mainland.

The price for a 10-day Taiwan trip hovers around RMB8,000.