Taiwan's tourism and airline industries have the capacity to cope with the influx of tourists expected under the incoming government's plan to open the country to more Chinese tourists in July, the Tourism Bureau said Thursday. In a report to the Legislative Yuan's Transportation Committee, the bureau noted there are 146 travel agencies in Taiwan that are licensed to serve tour groups from China.

* Travel agencies that have been in business for least five years will be allowed to join the service once they pay a deposit of $2NT million, the bureau added.

* In terms of hotel availability, the bureau said hotels around the country have a surplus of approximately 29,149 rooms per day, which will be enough to meet the expected higher demand.

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