Taiwan Strait Tourism Association (TSTA) opened its first tourism office on the mainland in Beijing on Tuesday.

At the opening ceremony, mainland-based Cross-Strait Tourism Exchange Association (CTEA) announced that it would open a counterpart office in Taipei on Friday.

?A journalist takes photos in the first Taiwan tourism office which was opened on the mainland in Beijing on May 4, 2010. [Photo: CNSphoto]

"The establishment of the two offices is to help create a service channel, intensify promotion and increase service quality for cross-Straits tourism," said Janice Seh-jer Lai, head of the TSTA.

Shao Qiwei, the chairman of the CTEA, said the offices show that tourism between Taiwan and the mainland has entered into a normal and regular stage.

The number of Chinese visitors to Taiwan reached 385,000 during the first quarter, and could top 1 million by the end of this year, Shao said.

A total of 1.212 million mainland tourists have visited Taiwan since?it lifted a ban on mainland tourists in June 2008.

Yang Ruey-tzong, head of the TSTA office said the major tasks for the office was to participate in an upcoming tourism fair in Beijing, and to start tourism promotion work in various provinces and cities on the mainland.

The office has five employees from the island, and is currently considering hiring local employees.