Starting from the beginning of April, the city of Hefei in Anhui province officially launched its "Three-in-one" application policy, which enables travelers to apply for passports, Exit－Entry Permits for travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macau, and travel permits for Mainlanders to enter and exit Taiwan at the same time by filling out only one application form.

Through an on-site investigation, it now takes only two and a half minutes to fill out the application form and takes only 10 minutes to go through to the application materials submission window.

Mr. Zhao, manager of the product department at China CYTS Tours Holdings Ltd.'s Anhui branch believes that the new policy will stimulate the tourism market.

"Thanks to the 'Three-in-one' application policy, travelers may now want to apply for their passports, Exit－Entry Permits and Travel Permits for Mainlanders in one go, which will bring in more potential tourists," he said.

Tourism industry insiders predict that Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan tours will increase significantly this year.

The below are five major changes in the new "Three-in-one" application policy.

Change I: application form changed

The new application form removed sections on marital status, domicile police station, current home address, company name, work address, job title, family member's title, name, date of birth, and address, education, reason for travel, and destinations.

However, it added emergency contact and telephone sections, in order to make swift contact in case of emergency.

Changes II: application material reduced

Before the new policy, applicants needed to fill out three application forms, submit three photos and make nine copies of supporting materials if they wanted to apply for passports, Exit－Entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macau, and Travel Permit for Mainlanders to Enter and Exit Taiwan at the same time.

After implementing the new policy, applicants need to fill out just one application form, submit one photo and make three copies of supporting materials if they want to apply for all three at the same time

Changes III: procedure time shortened

With reegards to the processing time, it used to take 15 days to get all three back. After implementing the new policy, the processing time will be shortened to 10 days, 33 percent fast than the previous time.

Changes IV: Signature requirement changed

Usually, applicants need sign their names in standard Chinese characters. Now, applicants can sign with their usual handwriting. Signing in ethnic minority languages is also permitted. Preschoolers, illiterates, and people who have no writing ability are not required to sign.

Changes V: Guardian number reduced

Before, for minors under 16 years of age applying for a passport, two guardians were requested to be present. Now, one guardian attending is OK.