BEIJING/XIAMEN - Starting on Friday, travelers in East China's Fujian province won't have to be accompanied by tour groups when they go to three small islands in the Taiwan Strait, according to tourism authorities.

The islands of Jinmen, Mazu and Penghu are the three destinations that are being opened to unaccompanied mainlanders, the National Tourism Administration said on its website on Wednesday.

According to the administration, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and six other cities and an experimental district in the province have been selected as the first places whose residents will be able to take part in the travel program. If successful, the same trips will become available to people living in other mainland cities.

The new tourism program, which has been approved by officials on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, comes after a similar policy change began in late June allowing residents from Beijing and Shanghai to travel unaccompanied to Taiwan.

Although no more than 500 mainlanders are now allowed to visit Taiwan Island in a single day, no limit has been set on the number of tourists who can travel to the small islands that lie off the coast of Fujian province. But there are other restrictions.

The agreement, for instance, prohibits tourists who are now allowed to go to Jinmen, Mazu and Penghu islands from going to Taiwan Island. It stipulates that those who want to go to Jinmen must start from Xiamen or Quanzhou. And it says that those want to go to Penghu must get there by a plane leaving from Jinmen. Many welcomed the policy change.

"I've never been to those islands, although they are not far away," said Liu Mengjia, a 22-year-old Xiamen resident.

"I especially want to visit Penghu because it has many scenic spots, such as ancient Matsu temples and beautiful beaches."

Yang Weiping, a manager with the Taiwan trip sector of the Xiamen Tourism Group, said his company is having to work faster because many people want take to travel to the islands.

"I think more residents will go to Jinmen, Mazu and Penghu in coming days, since the procedure for applying to travel to those destinations is simpler than it is for going to Taiwan Island," he told China Daily.

Su Weijun, an official with the Xiamen tourism bureau, said unaccompanied tours to Jinmen, Mazu and Penghu will not only help the local tourism industry and strengthen economic ties between the mainland and the islands but also lead to more cultural exchanges.

"There is no exact number showing how many residents will make up the first batch of tourists to the three islands," he said. "But in Xiamen alone, more than 100 residents have applied."

Despite the policy change, the path to the islands is still not entirely free of encumbrances.

A person who wants to go to Penghu will find that, to meet the government's travel requirements, he must secure one of the 72 seats that are on each of the four planes that leave from Jinmen for that destination every day.

Su said he believes the demand for trips to Penghu will lead to more flights between Jinmen and Penghu being scheduled in the near future.

Li Bo contributed to this story.