TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan will allow tour groups to travel to China after June 1 if they booked before the cutoff date, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said Thursday (May 30).

In February, the government said it would ban tour travel to China beginning June 1 as China had unilaterally altered flight routes over the Taiwan Strait, causing safety concerns. Taiwan had previously said it would allow tour travel from March 1.

Since a significant number of travelers had booked tours scheduled for after May, their trips should still be allowed to go ahead despite the restrictions, Cho told a Cabinet meeting Thursday. He added that Taiwan welcomed visitors from China and hoped for a revival of bilateral tourism, Radio Taiwan International (RTI) reported.

The latest decision to allow some tours in June affects 20,000 people taking part in more than 1,000 tour groups, per CNA. Representatives of the travel sector heard of the latest government stance during a meeting with Transportation Minister Li Men-yen (李孟諺) Wednesday (May 29). 

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, about a third of the 17 million overseas trips per year by Taiwanese had China as their destination, with tour groups occupying half the total.