China is planning to curb its outbound tourism to Taiwan as it has planned to reduce tourism by half by the end of the year.
This move comes after the Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen refused to acknowledge the 1992 consensus, where PRC and TOC were treated as parts of the same China.
China’s intervention has resulted in a drop of tourism, with a total number estimated to fall below two million this year. China is determined to cut tourism flow by a one-third, 50,000 from a previous quota of 150,000.
The sanctions will hit hard as the year progresses only 75,000 will be allowed to visit from next month and then reduce further by 37,000 from October. Even mainland students will be stopped from attending the universities of Taiwan.
Taiwan enjoyed a robust visitation of 4.1 million tourists in 2015 which contributed an estimated NT$230 billion ($7.1 billion) to the Taiwanese economy. This is assumed as a step taken by Beijing to discourage any new step taken by the new leadership for making moves towards independence.
Beijing is very hard on the new Taiwanese President’s unwillingness to acknowledge the 1992 Consensus. Some controversial remarks on the president have received hard criticism both from home and abroad. Taiwan is strong in its conviction and with time it will be revealed how the country can sustain this monetary loss.
