大陆游客为台湾数十亿美元商机

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.

台湾说，自从台湾2年半以前向中国大陆游客开放旅游以来，大陆游客给台湾经济注入了30多亿美元。

台湾陆委会报告说，在2010年，117万大陆游客以组团方式到台湾旅游，几乎是前年的两倍。自从台湾2008年7月取消实行了几十年的禁止大陆游客访台的禁令以来，总共有182万大陆游客到访台湾。

台湾总统马英九把同大陆建立更加紧密的经济关系作为他执政的一个特征，以此作为缓解海峡两岸关系的一个途径，同时提升台湾的经济。

北京和台北去年签署了一个重大的自由贸易协议，降低了数百种商品的关税，从而大大的推动了两岸贸易。