Tibet reopens to foreign tourists

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Source: CCTV.com | 06-25-2008 13:42

Tibet is open once again to foreign tourists. Foreigners were barred from entering the autonomous region for three months following the March 14th riot in Lhasa.

Tibet is open once again to foreign tourists. Foreigners were barred from entering the autonomous region for three months following the March 14th riot in Lhasa.

The first foreign tourists to arrive in Lhasa today will be two people from Sweden. Four Singaporean tourists will arrive on Sunday.

Domestic tour groups have been allowed into Tibet since late April, followed by visitors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan in May. As of June 20th, the region had received more than 160 tour groups. Local travel agencies have been preparing for a tourist surge in summer. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has reiterated that Tibet will not change its opening-up policy.

Tibet received 4 million tourists from both home and abroad last year, up 60 percent from 2006. Tourism revenue reached nearly 700 million US dollars, accounting for more than 14 percent of the region's GDP.

Editor:Zhang Ning