BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Safety measures for Chinese mainland visitors to Taiwan should be improved to prevent more accidents happening, a spokeswoman of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office said Wednesday.

"We expect Taiwan's travel authority to improve protection work to reduce risks for mainland visitors," said spokeswoman Fan Liqing at a news conference.

Fan also urged travel service personnel of the two sides to increase communication, and to better care for visitors stranded by bad weather.

On April 20, a bus carrying mainland travellers collided with a local SUV, and 10 of the 20 mainlanders in the bus were hurt, sustaining minor injuries. Three days later, stranded mainland visitors were involved in an altercation with local police at an airport in Kaohsiung city, after a four day flight delay due to severe weather.

Since July 2008 when the channel allowing visitors from the mainland to Taiwan officially opened, there had been no major problems, said Fan.

In the first four months of this year, mainland travellers to Taiwan are expected to top 400,000, double the number from the same period last year.

"We expect an even larger increase in the coming months," Fan said.

At the news conference, Fan also expressed hope that the Taiwan education authority would enhance exchanges with mainland counterparts to let more mainland students to study in Taiwan.