Since 1978, when foreign tourists were allowed to travel freely in Mainland China for the first time, the beauty and the mystery of her nature and culture have attracted large numbers of tourists. In view of the limited number of travel spots in Taiwan, which shares the same culture and history as the Mainland, there has been a sharp drop in the number of tourists visiting Taiwan.
This study attempts, first of all, to compare the differences in the tourism industry that exist between the two regions, including those related to the structure of tourists, the level of development of the tourism industry, and the scale and economic impacts of tourism. Secondly, this study examines the competition that exists between these two countries in the tourism industry in three of the countries that supply the tourists. Thirdly, the study analyzes the economic impacts of tourism growth in Mainland China, and the effects of Taiwan’s recent decision to allow its people to visit their relatives in Mainland China.
The major findings are as follows:
1. In Mainland China, tourism is an important earner of foreign exchange, with most of the tourists coming from Hong Kong. In Taiwan, the people tend to travel abroad, rather than people from abroad travelling to Taiwan.
2. By comparing the prices and choices of trips in the two regions, in Japan, Taiwan’s trips of less than one week can compete well with those of Mainland China. In Hong Kong, trips around Taiwan are more expensive and offer less choices. In the United States, there is some degree of complementarity between the two.
3. Tourism in Mainland China has helped relieve her of her foreign exchange shortage and has speeded up the development of infrastructure. But few new jobs have been created, and there have been many problems associated with trading foreign exchange in the black market.
4. The flow of people from Taiwan visiting relatives on the Mainland is expected to result in an annual flow of foreign exchange of US$480 million to US$630 million from Taiwan to Mainland China. It is believed that many people would have travelled elsewhere, had they not been able to visit the Mainland. Thus, people on both sides now have a legitimate means of communicating with each other which will be helpful in promoting indirect trade and investment.
