With six million mainland tourists expected to travel abroad over the Lunar New Year break, the holiday from January 27 to February 2 is crucial for Taiwanese tour agency operator Li Chi-yueh. He relies on mainland visitors for a third of his revenue, but his hopes are not high this year, after the number of such tourists plummeted 36 per cent since President Tsai Ing-wen took power in May. Though Tsai says Taiwan wants peaceful cross-strait ties, Beijing suspects that she seeks formal independence. “China uses its sightseeing tourists as a diplomatic weapon,” said Li, owner of the Taipei-based Chung Shin Travel Service, who has been representing tour operators to lobby Tsai to improve ties with Beijing. “There’s a lot of concern that the industry won’t survive if we carry on like this.” The concern is not confined to Taiwan – tour operators and government officials elsewhere in Asia say they fear Beijing is using its increasingly high-spending tourists as a lever to pressure or reward its neighbours.
