台湾旅游业新高期望

Taiwan is preparing for a tourism boom after new policies allowing Chinese mainland residents to travel to the island as individual tourists come into effect at the end of this month. The stock market in Taiwan is already rising prior to the expected increase in tourists. There is no doubt that this policy will be a golden opportunity for all business sectors.
随着台湾允许中国大陆居民赴台个人游这个月底正式启动，台湾正为旅游业的繁荣做准备。台湾的股票市场已经先于预计的旅客增长开始上升。毫无疑问，这项政策对所有的商业部门来说将是一个黄金机会。

Taiwan first received tourists from the mainland in July 2008 after the two sides agreed to lift a ban on mainlanders traveling to the island. They were allowed to travel in groups with specific agencies. Since then, Taiwan has witnessed booming tourism. According to Taiwan tourism authorities, the number of mainland tourists were close to 1 million in 2009 and shot up to 1.63 million in 2010.
2008年7月，大陆和台湾同意撤销大陆赴台旅游的禁令后，台湾迎来首批大陆旅客。允许他们通过特定的旅行社组团到台湾旅游。此后，台湾的旅游业开始繁荣起来。根据台湾旅游局，2009年大陆旅客接近100万，而在2010年迅速上升到163万人。

However, traveling in groups means less freedom. People have to follow a planned schedule and spend a certain amount of time at each tourist site. This will all change by the end of the month.
然而，组团旅行较少自由。人们不得不遵循计划好的时间表，在每个旅游景点花规定的时间。这一点月底将会改变。

To prepare for individual travelers, 22 tour companies have invested 4 billion US dollars expanding their facilities.
为个人游做准备，22家旅行社已经投资了40亿美元来扩展他们的设备。

Taiwan was suffering a deficit in service sectors before 2008. That has changed since mainlanders started traveling to the island. 1.8 billion US dollars of revenue was brought in to service industries in the same year. 2 billion in 2009 and 2.7 billion in 2010.
2008年前，台湾的服务业遭受了赤字。自从大陆游客开始赴台旅游，这种情况已经改变了。同一年，它为服务业带来了18亿美元的税收。2009年20亿美元，2010年27亿美元。

Mainland tourists will also bring a vast number of job opportunities in Taiwan. By the end of last year, 11,000 jobs were created in the food and drinks industry. 17,000 more are expected in the next 2 years.
大陆旅客也给台湾带来了巨大的就业机会。去年年底，食品和饮料行业就创造了1.1万个工作岗位。预计未来两年将创造超过1.7万个工作岗位。

The two side have also agreed to increase the number of cross-Strait passenger flights to 558 flights per week, an increase of more than 50 percent.
双方也同意将两岸旅客航班增加到每周558次，增幅超过50%。

Major cities such as Taipei, Kaohsiung, Kending and Tainan have organized festivals and created promotional tour packages to attract tourists.
如台北，高雄，垦丁和台南这些主要城市已经举办了庆祝活动，并设计促销的旅游线路来吸引游客。

Individual tourism is not only good news for businesses but also for residents from both sides. Before the lifting of the travel ban, visiting Taiwan just a dream for many mainlanders. It was also unequal because Taiwan residents were always able to travel to the mainland. Since 2008, separated families and friends could finally be reunited. With individual touring, people can schedule their own tours and stay with their friends and relatives if they wish. This new policy enables travelers to explore wherever they want on the island.
个人旅游业不仅对商界来说是好消息，对双方居民也是好消息。在撤销旅游禁令之前，赴台旅游对许多大陆者来说只是个梦想。这是不公平的，因为台湾居民一直都可以到大陆旅游。从2008年开始，分开的家庭和朋友最终可以重聚。随着个人游的启动，人们可以自己计划他们的旅游时间，如果他们希望，还可以跟朋友和亲戚住在一起。新的政策使旅客任何时候想去台湾都可以去。