More cities to get Taiwan visit approval

Residents in 10 more cities on the Chinese mainland are expected to get approval to visit Taiwan as individual tourists, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported on Friday.

Five cities -- Ningbo, Kunming, Dalian, Zhengzhou and Wuhan –are among the list of eligible cities. Taiwan will also grant multiple-entry access to high-end consumers and professionals involved in culture and education from the mainland, said the report.

The new plan is part of the island’s effort to boost its economy and authorities across both sides of the Taiwan Straits are negotiating more details, according to the report.

Taiwan first opened the door to individual tourists from Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen on June 28, 2011. Residents from Tianjin, Chongqing, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Chengdu have been allowed to visit Taiwan since April 28, 2012.

About 2.58 million visitors from the mainland went to Taiwan in 2012.