Taiwan resumed accepting entry permit applications from mainland Chinese businesspeople on Monday, but say "reciprocity" is needed from Beijing to expand tourism measures, which are seen by some as too weak to bolster the sector on the island.
Travel for short-term business trips, including for exhibitions and training sessions, will be considered, according to Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council.
Taiwan will also resume issuing travel permits to mainland Chinese tourists who live in Hong Kong, Macau or other places outside mainland China from Friday.
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It will then begin a month of preparations for the return of mainland Chinese group tours, although a date has yet to be announced.
"It's good news to bring more inbound traffic into Taiwan," said Hiro Liao, Skal International East Asia vice-president and president of Skal International Taipei.
Taiwan retained its ban on mainland Chinese visitors when it reopened its borders to other parts of the world last year having implemented coronavirus control measures in March 2020.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications said in October it planned to revive worldwide tourist arrivals to pre-coronavirus levels of around 10 million per year by 2024.
Around 9,500 tour guides, 2,800 travel agencies and 3,400 hotels operate in Taiwan, and many relied on government subsidies and domestic tourism to survive the pandemic, while others were forced to close.
Taiwan had earned a reputation among mainland Chinese travellers for its night market snacks, extensive public transport and remote towns with historic landmarks.
Taipei began allowing mainland Chinese tourists en masse in 2008 and arrivals reached a record high of 3.4 million in 2015.
But political relations have faltered over the past seven years and Beijing halted independent travel to Taiwan in 2019.
Mainland China sees self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway territory that must be united with the mainland, by force, if needed.
"It's a very positive development for people in the mainland," said Victor Gao, vice-president of the Centre for China and Globalisation in Beijing.
"They want to go to Taiwan to see the sights and understand the situation."
Zheng Jianpeng, a teacher in Beijing, plans to return to Taiwan because of lingering curiosity after a trip in 2014.