A spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office confirmed on Friday that tour operators from Fujian province and Shanghai have submitted applications to inspect Taiwan in preparation of the resumption of tour groups for Chinese mainland residents to Taiwan.

China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced on Jan 17 that it will resume group tours to Taiwan for residents from Fujian province and Shanghai.

Chen Binhua, spokesman for the office, said during a news conference that travel industries on the Chinese mainland and Taiwan have been actively communicating with each other since the announcement, and there is a growing enthusiasm for expanding tourism exchanges between people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

"We are pleased to see that tour operators from Fujian and Shanghai have raised inspection tour requests to Taiwan," he said.

"We hope that the visit (to Taiwan) of tourism companies from the mainland will be carried out smoothly, laying a good foundation for the resumption of group tours," he said.