A recent sample survey by a Taiwan-based journal reveals that at least 84 percent of Taiwan's tourism operators want Taiwan to become more open to mainland visitors, according to the China News Service.

According to the survey, carried out on the Internet between July 5 and 22, 84 percent of the 1,120 respondents wanted Taiwan to get fully open for mainland visitors within one single year.

The survey indicates that 29 percent of the respondents want Taiwan to open immediately, 8 percent within three months, 16 percent within half a year and one third within one year.

About 27 percent of the respondents think that opening up to mainland tourists would help Taiwan's tourism industry grow by 20 percent annually, 42 percent of them consider the growth rate could range from 21 percent to 60 percent, 16 percent estimate the increase at 61 percent to double, and 15 percent expect a growth of more than double.

The respondents also hoped Taiwan's tourism industry could design more travel lines, provide more tourism information and improve the quality of local guides.

As for why the Taiwan authorities hesitate in opening tourism to mainland visitors, 64 percent of the respondents attribute it to the fear of "mainland tourists' possible prolonged stay," 57 percent to the fear of "security reason," and 36 percent to the fear of "the collapse of the authorities."

Nearly 21 percent attribute it to "a lack of confidence in negotiations with the mainland" and 21 percent to the fear of "too much economic reliance on the Chinese mainland."

(Xinhua News Agency August 2, 2005)