(Photo : Chinese Tour)

A travel law in China will be implemented on October first will prevent travel agencies from having tourist going as groups to go on arranged shopping trips. It is expected that short-term impacts will be felt by the Taiwanese tourism market; however, it is also expected to create positive results in the long run, that's according to the local tourism sector.

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Ta-kuang, chairman for the Travel Agent Association of the Republic of China mentions that possibility of decrease of profits  since there would be less tourist visiting Taiwan. According to forecast from the Taiwanese travel industry, tourist groups travelling to Taiwan will drop by as much as 20 percent once the new law is implemented.

According Ivan Lin, a representative from the China Travel Service, the reason behind the income reduction is that travel agencies will need to increase the rates for Chinese group tourist since they will not be getting commissions from the stores that used to be in their travel itineraries.

One scenario, the average cost per head in a group of tourist in southeastern China is about US$490 or 3,000 yuan. This might potentially increase the rate to as much as 7,000 yuan once the law has been implemented, added to Lin.

Both Lin and Yao have the same opinion on the matter, that in the long run the law would give more benefits and will cause development for the local tourism industry.

It was also released by the Tourism Bureau of Taiwan that the increase in the cost of travel will decrease the number of tourist groups coming from China to Taiwan. The bureau also added that looking into a long term perspective; the new law will boost the travel quality in Taiwan.

It has been a common practice by several travel agencies to offer travel packages at a lower rate that includes visits to shops and stores that with partnered stores and shops and thereby earn commissions from them.