The Chinese mainland has overtaken Japan to become the largest provider of tourists to Taiwan, according to statistics issued by the Taiwan authority.

In the first nine months this year, around four million people traveled to Taiwan, and nearly 1.2 million of them were from the Chinese mainland, an increase of 73 percent year on year.

While 780,000 Japanese tourists visited Taiwan during the same period. Previously, Japan had long held the record.

Taiwan, in July 2008, allowed mainland tourists to visit the island on package tours with a stay of up to 15 days. Also cross-Strait direct flights have made it more convenient for mainland Chinese to visit the island.

Lai Seh-jen, head of Taiwan's tourism authority, expected the number of mainland tourists to Taiwan this year to hit 1.5 million.