Sports-oriented tourism new fashion in Tibet

　　BEIJING, July 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Tibet will hold an international hiking meeting in August as part of its effort to develop sports- and expedition-oriented tourist programs, according to the Regional Tourism Bureau.

　　The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, known as the "roof of the world", attracts the world's tourists with its beautiful scenery and unique customs.

　　An amateur performs drifting on a tributary of the Lhasa River in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, on July 15, 2009.(Xinhua Photo)

　　With the upsurge of the sports- and expedition-oriented tourist programs, such as mountaineering, hiking and drifting, Tibet's tourist market resources will be further segmented.

　　The previous three Namco hiking meetings, which attracted many domestic and foreign hiking amateurs, were conducive to creating the plateau hiking brand and promoting international cultural exchanges, according to Jiang Ga, director of the Lhasa City Tourism Bureau.

　　Meanwhile, the new tourist programs have increased local residents earnings, he said.

　　For instance, in Zhaxizong Town at the foot of the Mt. Qomolangma, the villagers earn three million yuan RMB (or 439,100 U.S. dollars) annually from running family hotels, selling souvenirs and transporting mountaineering goods.

　　With the operation of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and Nyingchi Airport, more and more domestic and foreign tourists have been flocking to Tibet.

　　Statistics show that Tibet received an all-time high of 1.49 million tourists in the first half of 2009, generating a total revenue of 1.13 billion yuan RMB (or 165 million U.S. dollars).