Large mainland tourist group arrives in Taiwan

TAIPEI -- A group of 2,400 tourists from the Chinese mainland arrived in Taipei Tuesday afternoon.

They are part of a larger number of 12,000 people who are traveling to Taiwan in five separate groups. The remaining four groups are due to arrive later this month.

The tourists, all employees of Amway (China) Co from 19 mainland cities, are scheduled to spend five days and four nights in Taiwan, visiting major cities including Taipei, Hualien and Kaohsiung.

The mass visit is expected to bring tourism revenues worth 1.1 billion New Taiwan dollars ($36.99 million) for the island, according to Gan Chee Eng, president of Amway Greater China.

Taiwan has witnessed a significant increase in mainland visitors since the island was opened to mainland tourists in July 2008.

The mainland was the largest source of tourists for Taiwan last year, with mainlanders accounting for 36 percent of all visitors. More than 2.58 million mainlanders made the trip in 2012.