Taiwan tours upgraded for mainland visitors  

大陸提升赴臺游品質 嚴控旅游購物時間

為順應兩岸旅游業的發展要求，全面提升大陸赴臺游的服務質量，中國國際旅行總社最新推出臺灣品質游服務標準：大陸游客赴臺游的購物次數不得超過行程天數的一半，每次不超過60分鐘。這是記者7日從該旅行社舉行的“唯美臺灣”統一標準及產品推介會上獲悉的。

Beijing (CNS) -- China International Travel Service (CITS) recently rolled out new standards for quality Taiwan tours, according to information released at a "Beautiful Taiwan" promotion event on Friday.

The new standards strictly limit time spent on shopping for mainland tourists: The number of shopping stops should not exceed half the number of nights they would stay in Taiwan, and time spent at each stop should be limited to an hour.

The move is aimed at meeting the demands of the booming tourism industry across the Taiwan Strait and raising the service quality of Taiwan tours, CITS said.

Since Taiwan opened its door to mainland tourists 4 years ago, the number of mainland tourists traveling to the island has continued to grow.

In 2012, the number exceeded 1.97 million, a year-on-year increase of 57.6 percent. Statistics from Taiwan show that the Chinese mainland has overtaken Japan as the island's biggest source of inbound tourism, with 36 percent of Taiwan's visitor arrivals coming from the mainland.

As more mainland tourists flock to Taiwan, problems such as rising customer complaints, declining services and failing safety guarantees have gradually emerged.

The new standards fall into five major categories: transportation, catering, accommodation, shopping and itinerary. Tourists should only make purchases at shops approved by the Tourism Bureau (MOTC) or recommended by the Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits. At least NT$500 ($17) must be spent on lunch and dinner each day. Accommodations should be arranged at four-star or five-star hotels or special hotels of the same grade. Travel itineraries should focus on regional travel, theme travel or exotic travel.

In addition, the new standards also include working time and distance limits for tour bus drivers, and GPS installation in all tour buses.