The Chinese mainland and Taiwan signed a landmark agreement on Friday to allow mainland tourists to travel in Taiwan from next month.

The agreement, taking effect from June 20, will see the first tourist group arrive in Taiwan on July 18.

The two sides set a quota for the number of tourists in line with Taiwan's accommodation capacity and may be adjusted next year.

"A maximum of 3,000 mainland tourists can travel to Taiwan every day," the agreement says.

In the meantime, only groups of 10 to 40 tourists are allowed to travel to Taiwan, according to the agreement.

It also prescribes a maximum stay of 10 days for each group.

The two sides agreed on establishment of representative offices to handle tourism issues.

They pledged to simplify entry and exit procedures and protect mainland tourists' legal rights and safety.

The Taiwan Straits Travel and Tourism Association will open an advice and complaints hotline for mainland tourists.

They also agreed to establish an emergency response system to settle disputes arising from tourism and handle emergency cases.

The mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits chairman Chen Yunlin and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation chairman Chiang Pin-kun signed the agreement around 9 a.m. on Friday.

The ARATS and SEF resumed talks for the first time in nine years on Thursday.

(Xinhua News Agency June 13, 2008)