The first group of mainlanders to visit Taiwan as individual tourists has arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday morning, as a pilot travel program is launched on the same day, chinanews.com.cn reports.

The 290 tourists are residents from Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen - the first three cities which are to be included in the initial phase of the program. They will be able to stay on the island for a maximum of 15 days, according to travel regulations released by the National Tourism Administration.

Previously tourists from the mainland were only allowed to travel in groups and had to follow preplanned tour routes, but now they have the freedom to arrange routes themselves.

Groups on both sides of the Strait speak positively of the move, which in all likelihood will open channels for cross-Straits communication further.

Shao Qiwei, head of the National Tourism Administration, said that people-to-people communication will enable residents from each side of the Strait to get to know each other better, while Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou said that individual travel will create opportunities for mainlanders to have in-depth experiences of Taiwan.

Tourism businesses in Taiwan such as department stores and convenience stores have geared up for the imminent wave of mainland tourists with various marketing promotions aimed at stimulating consumption.

Since Taiwan lifted a travel ban in July 2008, the number of mainland tourists traveling to Taiwan in groups totaled 2.34 million as of the end of May, bringing an estimated 110 billion New Taiwan dollars ($3.8 billion) to the island.

(CRIENGLISH.com June 28, 2011)