What Happened Citing the current status of cross-strait relations, China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism on July 31 announced a ban on visits to Taiwan by solo tourists from 47 mainland cities. The ban takes effect Aug. 1. It will not affect business travelers or group tours. Why It Matters Tourism numbers show that 2.7 million mainland tourists visited Taiwan in 2017, the most recent year for which figures are available. These figures indicate the travel ban on individual tourists could reduce the number of visitors to Taiwan by 700,000 in 2019 if the ban is extended to year's end.