Starting April 1, Taiwan will roll out a new visa program that could make it the next favorite destination for Chinese travelers, while Hong Kong is considering a limit to inbound Chinese visitors.

Under the program, the Taiwan government will issue special visas to 5,000 travelers from China per month, on top of its daily quota of 5,000 visitor groups and 4,000 individual travelers from the mainland.

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Taiwan's new visa program is aimed at attracting the Chinese big spenders to fuel their economy. 

Chinese nationals traveling under the program will be encouraged to dine at expensive restaurants, stay in top hotels and will be required to spend at least $350 per day.

In Hong Kong, however, the opposite is happening. 

Last week, Hong Kong chief executive C.Y. Leung reportedly said that the government may control the number of Chinese travelers in the wake of complaints from the suburban district of Yuen Long that these moneyed visitors from the mainland have been monopolizing the goods and driving up prices in the city.

More than half of Hong Kong residents who were asked in a survey were in favor of limiting the number of Chinese inbound travelers.

But the business community is not keen on the idea of limiting tourist arrivals.

Concerns were raised by some businessmen that the policy could hit the retail sector and could affect the Hang Seng index. 

Many analysts, however, believe that the plan to restrict arrivals of Chinese travelers, who compose the bulk of Hong Kong's total tourist arrivals, will not materialize.

Nonetheless, there has been a noticeable decrease in the number of inbound mainland travelers not only because of the growing build-up of anti-China sentiment and Hong Kong's decreasing appeal, but also because of  expanding travel options for the moneyed Chinese, who are looking at more exciting travel destinations like Japan and Europe. 

TagsTaiwan Tourism, Taiwan Visa