The number of Mainland tourists to Taiwan exceeded that to Japan for the first time in the first quarter of the year. There aren't enough excursion buses to meet demand, and fees have been raised.

Over 340-thousand people visited the island from January to March, almost double the number a year ago. Air tickets and entry permits are hard to come by. So are excursion buses, and if you can rent one, the fee is 13 thousand new Taiwan dollar, 80 percent up. Industry insiders say the arrangements for excursion buses have been scheduled through the end of May and the gap between demand and supply is about 400.