Direct flights to and from Nanjing in Jiangsu province and Taitung county in Taiwan will commence operation on November 2, Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday.

The once-a-week scheduled direct flight, operated by Taiwan's UNI Air, will depart Taitung Airport for Nanjing's Lukou International Airport on Wednesdays, and return to Taitung the following morning.

The flight schedule is 21:40-23:40 on Wednesdays and 6:00-8:00 on Thursdays, according to Xinhua's report.

The direct fight will apparently help bring more Jiangsu tourists to Taitung, for whom the county also promises preferential policies.

Travel groups of more than 20 tourists will be given dinner subsidies - 3,000 NTD ($99) per table, as long as they stay in Taitung over a night, county Magistrate Justin Huang said in a tourism promotion in Nanjing Monday.

Jiangsu is an important mainland province that has numerous business connections with Taiwan. Currently Nanjing, Wuxi, Xuzhou and Yancheng have direct flight services to the island. Jiangsu is also the second largest mainland tourism source market for Taiwan.