Taiwan said a record 619,000 international visitors came to the island in

Taiwan said a record 619,000 international visitors came to the island in November, boosted by a nearly 30 percent increase of arrivals from China.

The November figures broke the previous monthly record of 550,000 in April and was up 17.1 percent from the same month last year, said the tourism bureau.

A record 213,000 Chinese visitors arrived in November for business and leisure, up 29 percent from a year earlier while the number of Japanese travelers also rose 23 percent to a record 130,500, it said.

The bureau said promotional campaigns managed to attract more tourists from the United States, Europe and other Asian countries who were originally bound for flood-hit Thailand.

International visitors in the first 11 months reached 5.43 million, compared with a record high of 5.5 million for the whole year 2010, it said.

Last year, China replaced Japan to become Taiwan’s largest source of visitors, after the island’s economy-minded government in 2008 relaxed rules on mainland travellers.

China and Taiwan split in 1949 after a civil war but Beijing considers the island part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

Source AFP