More than 1 million Taiwanese tourists are expected to visit the expo, but so far, sales have not been as good as originally forecast, according to Chang Mei-lien, a senior executive of the Taiwan-based China Travel Services.

Pre-sale tickets are being sold for NT$700 each until the end of this year, Chang said, adding that her company's bid to become the exclusive local sales agent for the expo was made mainly to attract Taiwanese clients who would also book travel packages for the expo rather than to make a profit from the tickets themselves.

Of the tickets sold so far, 1,200 have been bought by an organization dedicated to promoting exchanges between Taiwan and China, while others have been snapped up by Taiwanese businessmen operating in China and by schools for student study tours, according to Chang.

She made the remarks at a booth set up by her company at the 4th Cross-Taiwan Strait Travel Fair being held at the Taipei World Trade Center.

The company is offering a wide range of special deals to promote the Shanghai World Expo, slated to begin in May next year, but sales at the fair had been lukewarm over the past three days, Chang said, although she predicted that they will probably soar in March after the Spring Festival and are still expected to reach the original goal.

(Chang Ming-kuan and Y.L. Kao)