Travelers from the Chinese mainland are estimated to have contributed $3.25 billion to Taiwan by March 2011 since a travel ban between the two sides was lifted in July 2008the Xinhuanet reported Tuesday.
The number of Chinese mainland tourists traveling to Taiwan reached 2.34 million as of the end of May, according to Shao Qiwei, the head of the China National Tourism Administration, compared with 60, 000 in 2008, the report said.
Mainland tourists are the biggest spenders on the island, with their daily shopping expenditure reaching NT$3, 997 per person on average, more than their overseas counterparts, the report said, citing statistics from the Taiwan tourism bureau.