Tibet announces incentives for travel agents to revive tourism

Beijing, Aug 22: Tibet has announced attractive

bonuses for travel agents to woo foreign tourists and revive

local tourism, which was badly hurt by the worst anti-China

riots by pro-Dalai Lama Tibetans in March this year.

Travel agencies will get bonuses for taking more tour

groups to Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region, ...

government announced.

Gyangkar, chief of the Lhasa City Tourism Bureau, said

on Tuesday that the city government has set aside one million

Yuan (about USD 142,857) in hopes of reviving the tourism

market, which was devastated after the March 14 Lhasa riot.

Under the plan, which is valid from August 15 to

December 30, a travel agency can get 50,000 yuan for

organising a charter flight with at least 100 foreign

tourists.

600-person train tour of the picturesque Himalayan region.

The same reward will be paid to agencies that bring in

1,000-2,000 foreign tourists this year.

arrivals of more than 2,000 this year will yield a double

reward for an agency.

Lhasa, known as the "City of Sunshine", has long been

considered one of the purest places on Earth.

than 300 scenic sites, many of which are in or around Lhasa.

But tourism to the region plummeted after the March

unrest, in which 19 people died and many schools, hospitals,

homes and shops were damaged by arson.

off-limits to tourists for some time.

to return in late April, but overseas ones didn't do so until

June 25.

Tibet had 370,000 tourist arrivals in July, which was

more than the first-half total of 340,000 but well below the

year-earlier figure of 607,668.

livelihood of Tibetans in recent years, especially in Lhasa

after China introduced train services to the remote region.