“…Tibet’s tourism officials, who began allowing Chinese tourists to return last week, say foreigners will be let in shortly after May 1 but didn’t specify an exact date…”

By JASON LEOW
Source: The Wall Street Journal

Chinese authorities, increasingly worried that a lack of tourism is hurting Tibet’s economy, have announced that they plan to let foreign tourists back into Tibet.

Tibet has been shut to outsiders since Lhasa erupted in violence on March 14 and unrest spread to neighboring regions with heavy Tibetan populations. Parts of China’s southwestern Sichuan province, where there have been numerous incidents of unrest, have also been closed off and there are no plans yet to re-open them to foreigners, according to an official from Sichuan’s tourism bureau.

Tibet’s tourism officials, who began allowing Chinese tourists to return last week, say foreigners will be let in shortly after May 1 but didn’t specify an exact date.

“The situation has about returned to normal but the potential safety hazard hasn’t been entirely eliminated. That’s why we’re taking in domestic tourists before we will start receiving foreign tourists in the near future,” says Zhanor, deputy director of Tibet’s regional tourism bureau.

Travel agents appear miffed at the lack of clarity on the rules. Many want to capitalize on the three-day break for Labor Day that begins Thursday, when Chinese tourists — and foreigners residing in China — are expected to make short trips across the country.

Tibet China Travel Service, one of the biggest Tibet-bound operators in the country, says it started booking tours for Chinese tourists several days ago but hasn’t been allowed to service foreigners. “It’s tourist season but we haven’t heard from the regional tourism bureau when we can take overseas tourists,” says Yi Yang, an employee.

Even with tourism partly restored, Tibetan authorities fear they won’t be able to fulfill this year’s target for tourist arrivals, a problem likely to dent the tourism-reliant local economy. Tibet’s tourism revenue last year formed 14% of its gross domestic product, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

During last year’s May holiday, close to 340,000 tourists, or 8% of annual arrivals, visited Tibet. The region earned about $19 million, or about $3 million a day, from May 1 to 7, which was how long Labor Day break lasted before the central government shortened it this year under a new public holiday schedule. The government has added new holidays for the year but has made Labor Day a three-day break.

“We were hoping to achieve a target of five million tourists this year but now it’s hard to say if we can even meet last year’s target,” Mr. Zhanor said. Official numbers show about four million tourists visited Tibet last year, up 60% from 2006.

Elsewhere, parts of Sichuan province that were closed after unrest spread there in the wake of the Lhasa riots on March 14 remain out of bounds to foreigners, though Chinese citizens have never been barred from those areas, according to an official named Ms. Fan from the provincial tourism bureau.

Some highly popular scenic spots that are inside banned areas, such as Huanglong valley and Jiuzhaigou, will remain open to foreigners, though they won’t be allowed to travel beyond these spots, she says. Foreign reporters have also been banned from the region as authorities have struggled to contain unrest in heavily Tibetan areas.

Sichuan’s tourism officials are waiting to hear from the national tourism administration, which oversees the country’s tourism businesses, on when the other areas in the province can open up, Ms. Fan says. “The riots have had a big impact on us. We have requested several times for the province to be reopened to foreign tourists and are just waiting for a reply,” she says.