BEIJING, Oct. 16 -- A mainland spokesman said Wednesday that Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority had been the cause behind a sharp decrease in the number of mainland tourists to the island.

Mainland tourists to Taiwan during the National Day holiday from Oct. 1 to 7 dropped by around two-thirds compared with previous years, hitting an 11-year record low, according to data from the island's immigration authority.

The reason for the tourists number drop is known to all, said Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, when responding to a query about the big fall in the number of mainland tourists to the island during the National Day holiday.

The DPP administration have been constantly clamoring for "Taiwan independence" activities, inciting hostility toward the mainland, worsening the atmosphere for cross-Strait exchanges and hurting the feelings of mainland compatriots, said Ma. "It is impossible not to affect the mainland people's willingness to travel to Taiwan."

A sound cross-Strait relationship is for the good of Taiwan, Ma said, noting that the kinship between people across the Taiwan Strait is the driving force for mainland tourists to visit Taiwan.

Compatriots on both sides of the Strait all hope that cross-Strait relations will return to the right track of peaceful development as soon as possible, so that the travel to Taiwan for mainlanders can resume its healthy development, he said.