Taiwan has become a favored sightseeing destination for the Chinese mainland tourists as the number of mainland visitors to the island increases sharply during the upcoming Spring Festival.

More than 30,000 sightseeing tour applications during the traditional festival have been submitted by mainland travel agencies to Taiwan tourism administration, statistics from Taiwan authorities show.

Taiwan tourism authorities predict that a daily average of 4,000 mainland tourists will visit the island during the holiday, with the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year on February 14 to see about 8,000 mainlanders.

Hotel reservations in major scenic spots on the island were all full.

The island only saw a daily average 1,400 mainland visitors during last year's Spring Festival.

(Xinhua News Agency February 6, 2010)