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A target of more than 600,000 mainland visitors to Taiwan has been set for this year.

The ambitious target comes one year after the island was opened up to mainland tourists.

Since that time, over 383,000 mainland tourists have visited the island, according to the Cross-Straits Tourism Association (CSTA) in Beijing.

Both sides want to increase that figure to at least 600,000 this year.

During a round table conference in Beijing on Saturday, CSTA President Shao Qiwei and Taiwan Strait Tourism Association (TSTA) Chairwoman Janice Lai declared the past year's achievement "a good start".

TSTA statistics suggested that 85 percent of mainland tourists were satisfied with their trips to Taiwan. Fewer than 10 percent were not satisfied with the tight schedules and long hours on the road.

According to Lai, more than 60 percent of mainland tour groups are on an eight-day tour that covers 1,800 km. The tour takes in the most famous destinations, like the Sun Moon Lake and Mount Ali.

However, in the busy season of March and April, mainland tourists flock to the same scenic spots and restaurants at the same time, resulting in lower service standards.

Beijinger Sheng Zhiyun, who visited Taiwan this year, said that because of the crowds her group stayed at a hotel in the suburbs one hour's drive from downtown Taipei.

"We all felt exhausted and angry that we needed to take an hour-long bus trip to the hotel after an already tiring day of shopping at three different places,” she said.

Taiwan's tourism authority is strengthening management to upgrade the service quality.

More than 800 hotels are renovating their facilities and measures have been taken to prohibit local tour operators without enough capacity to handle mainland tour groups, Lai said.

New upcoming promotions will offer mainland tourists more in-depth and diversified tours in Taiwan to try to spread the flow of tourists, she said.

Lai said that an appraisal on whether mainland visitors could travel as individual tourists in Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu has been completed and submitted to Taiwan's "Executive Yuan" for approval.

Questions:

1. How many tourists have visited Taiwan since the island was opened up to mainland tourists?

2. What famous destinations did 60 percent of mainland tour groups go to on their eight-day tour?

3. When is Taiwan’s busy tourist season?

Answers:

1. Over 383,000.

2. Sun Moon Lake and Mount Ali.

3. March and April.

（英语点津 Helen 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Nancy Matos is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, Nancy is a graduate of the Broadcast Journalism and Media program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Her journalism career in broadcast and print has taken her around the world from New York to Portugal and now Beijing. Nancy is happy to make the move to China and join the China Daily team.