Taiwan visits to China up 16.86% in 2025, still below pre-pandemic levels: MOTC

Taipei, Feb. 14 (CNA) The number of trips made by Taiwanese travelers to China rose 16.86 percent year-on-year in 2025, but remained nearly 20 percent below pre-pandemic levels, according to data released by Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC).

A total of 3.24 million visits to China were recorded last year. Despite the increase, the figure was still 19.94 percent lower than in 2019, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Huang Cheng-tsung (黃正聰), an associate professor in the Department of Tourism at Providence University, told CNA that although travel to China picked up in 2025 compared with the previous year, volumes have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.

Huang attributed the shortfall to cooling cross-strait relations, Taiwan's continued ban on group tours to China, and stronger demand for travel to destinations such as Japan and South Korea.

Travel to China has been under an "orange" alert since June 27, 2024. At this level, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) advises the public to avoid non-essential travel.

The alert was raised after Beijing issued a 22-point set of guidelines targeting so-called "Taiwan independence separatists," which Taiwan said could pose serious risks to the personal safety of Taiwanese nationals traveling in China.

Taiwan's travel advisory system for China consists of four levels: gray (reminder), yellow (exercise caution), orange (avoid non-essential travel), and red (do not travel).