Taiwan stocks closed up 0.49 percent on Tuesday, with tourism shares jumping nearly 2 percent after a report that individual mainland Chinese might soon be able to freely travel to the island. The main TAIEX share index was up 43.6 points to 8,991.39, after opening up 0.6 percent.
The tourism sub-index rose 1.47 percent. A report said Taiwan and China officials would meet in Hong Kong on Tuesday where they are expected to agree to allow Chinese tourists to travel in Taiwan without having to join a tour.