BEIJING - About 1.84 million residents from the Chinese mainland visited Taiwan in 2011, up 11.02 percent year-on-year, according to statistics released by the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office Tuesday.

Among the visitors, more than 1.25 million were tourists. Of the tourists, 1.22 million went there on package tours, and 28,000 went on individual trips.

In 2011, the mainland registered 5.26 million Taiwan?visitors, up 2.38 percent year-on-year, according to the office.

Taiwan has become a popular destination, especially for families and the elderly since 2008, when the two sides of the Taiwan Straits lifted the ban on mainland tourists' traveling to Taiwan.

Since June 28, 2011, residents of the mainland cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen were allowed to make individual trips to Taiwan through a trial program that is expected to boost cross-Straits travel.