The number of mainland tourists traveling to Taiwan during the week-long 2010 National Day holiday hit 20,271, with daily numbers of nearly 2,900 visitors.

According to the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman, Yang Yi, during this period, the total number of tourist groups visiting Taiwan from the mainland was 839.

Based the latest figures, the number of mainland tourists visiting the island in 2010 is expected to reach a total of 1.2 million.

During the 2009 National Day holiday, about 12,000 mainland tourists traveled to Taiwan, with an estimated spend of about NTD760 million.

Earlier, Taiwan's tourism authority said that it planned to open self-guided tours to mainland tourists as early as February 2011.