Participants in a cross-Strait journalism camp pose for a photo at the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall in Beijing, capital of China. Photo: Xinhua

Despite an orange travel warning remaining in place for the Chinese mainland, the latest statistics from Taiwan's regional tourism authorities show that residents of the island made a total of 2.492 million visits to the mainland in the first eight months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 19.63 percent.

The mainland remained Taiwan residents' second-most popular outbound travel destination in the eight months, according to the department's latest figures, the Xinhua News Agency reported. 

Monthly trips to the mainland exceeded 300,000 from March through August, with double-digit year-on-year growth recorded in each month, Xinhua said. 

Cross-Straits people-to-people exchanges continue to deepen, driven by shared cultural roots and ethnic heritage, despite attempts by the DPP authorities to obstruct cross-Straits travel and instill fear among Taiwan residents, a mainland expert said, describing closer exchanges as an irresistible trend.

Notably, outbound travel by Taiwan residents rose 15.24 percent year-on-year over the same period, while trips to the mainland grew at a faster rate, underscoring strong demand for mainland travel, according to Xinhua.

"Grandpas and grandmas like joining group tours to Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Southwest China's Yunnan Province, while young people follow Xiaohongshu to 'check in' at places like Chongqing and Shanghai on independent trips," a student from the Taiwan region told Xinhua.

The student added that trips to the mainland have become increasingly common among people around them, and everyone is happy to post nice photos and share their experiences on social media.

Cross-Straits exchanges continue to grow because people on both sides share the same cultural roots and ethnic heritage, said Zhang Wensheng, deputy dean and a professor at the Taiwan Research Institute at Xiamen University, adding that their sense of connection is growing stronger as exchanges become increasingly close.

"This trend reflects the fact that people-to-people exchanges across the Taiwan Straits are an irresistible trend," Zhang added.

Meanwhile, the mainland has introduced policies offering incentives to attract Taiwan residents, especially young people. With continued economic development and an improving environment, the mainland offers more opportunities for tourism, education, and employment, the expert said. "As a result, many Taiwan residents are still willing to visit the mainland despite obstacles imposed by the DPP authorities."

However, Taiwan has maintained the orange warning for the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao since June 27, 2024. Orange is the second-highest warning level in Taiwan's four-tier travel advisory system. An orange warning advises the public to avoid nonessential travel to the affected destinations, according to local media reports. 

The Taiwan authorities, driven by their political ideology of "Taiwan independence," have sought to hinder people-to-people exchanges across the Straits and restrict travel to the mainland, including issuing the so-called orange travel alert and using political rhetoric to instill fear among Taiwan residents. However, these measures have not achieved their intended effect, Zhang said.

"The reality is clear: Do Taiwan residents face danger or threats when visiting the mainland? By seeing the mainland for themselves, they can form their own judgments and assess the claims made by the DPP authorities. For most Taiwan residents, a visit to the mainland is an opportunity to see the facts firsthand and distinguish fact from fiction," he noted.

For some time, the DPP authorities have put their own political interests above people's well-being, Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on October 14. Completely ignoring the calls and demands of Taiwan's tourism industry and the general public, they have deliberately erected barriers and obstructed cross-Straits tourism exchanges, hampering the recovery of Taiwan's tourism industry and causing serious losses to businesses and residents, Chen said.

The DPP authorities should change course, heed public opinion, remove restrictions and obstacles to cross-Straits people-to-people exchanges and tourism cooperation, and resume mainland residents' travel to Taiwan as soon as possible. Otherwise, they will face growing opposition and rejection from people in Taiwan, the spokesperson warned.