Longyan city in Fujian province has been included on the fifth batch of cities where residents can visit Taiwan on individual tours, authorities said on March 18.

The 11 newlyadded cities are Haikou, Hohhot, Lanzhou, Yinchuan, Changzhou, Zhoushan, Huizhou, Weihai, Longyan, Guilin and Xuzhou, according to the Association for Tourism Exchange across the Taiwan Straits.

Since the first pilot scheme in 2011, residents from 47 mainland cities, five of which are in Fujian province, have been given permission to enter Taiwan on individual tours.

The 11 newlyadded cities have large populations, convenient transportation, and sound economies for Taiwan-bound tourism, the association said in a statement.

The association also approved 48 travel agencies to handle the tours. So far, 311 travel agencies got the permission.

Non-local residents in cities of Fuzhou, Xiamen and Pingtan can also apply for travel permits and visa to Taiwan, according to a recent notice issued by the Fujian entry-exit administration bureau.

As of February, mainlanders had made nearly 2.19 million individual tour visits to Taiwan. In 2014 the number was nearly 1.18 million, up 125.8 percent year on year, making up about 37 percent of the entire number of tourists visiting the island last year.

The followings are the previous four batches of approved cities for individual Taiwan tours:

First batch: Beijing, Shanghai, Xiamen

Second batch: Tianjin, Nanjing, Chongqing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Fuzhou, Jinan, Xi’an

Third batch: Suzhou, Wuhan, Ningbo, Qingdao, Zhengzhou, Shenyang, Changchun, Shijiazhuang, Changsha, Kunming, Nanning, Hefei, Quanzhou

Fourth batch: Harbin, Taiyuan, Nanchang, Guiyang, Dalian, Wuxi, Wenzhou, Zhongshan, Yantai, Zhangzhou