Tibet publishes ten-year tourism development roadmap

Tibet Tourism Bureau has published a ten-year plan for the development of the Tibetan tourism.

According to the roadmap, Tibet will spend ten years building a tourism layout of "two centers, two axis, four tourist routes and seven areas". By the end of 2020, the number of annual visits to Tibet should reach 20 million and tourism revenue should reach CNY20 billion, making Tibet a world class tourism destination.

Tibet's tourism layout will include: the human culture tourism center Lhasa and the ecotourism center Nyingchi; east-west tourism development axis and south-north tourism development axis that can connect Tibet with the outside; four boutique tourist routes in east, west, south, and north; seven scenic areas including the Potala Palace ancient town area, Yarlung historic culture area, Mount Everest polar ecological area, Brahmaputra Grand Canyon scenic area, Kailash Mansarovar Guge kingdom ruins, Qiangtang Grassland lake ecological area, and Shangri-La ecotourism area.

Tibet will receive 6.5 million visits from China and other countries in 2010 among which 220,000 will be from inbound tourists. Meanwhile, tourism revenue will reach CNY6.7 billion, and total employment in tourism economy will reach the number of 180,000; by the end of 2015, Tibet will receive at least 10 million visits, tourism revenue will reach CNY10 billion, and total employment will reach 300,000; by the end of 2020, there will be at least 20 million visits, tourism revenue will reach CNY20 billion, and total employment will reach 400,000.

In constructing tourism products, Tibet will concentrate on the development of some famous tourism brands such as the Potala Palace, Mount Everest, Brahmaputra Grand Canyon, and Kailash Mansarovar. It will build at least two AAAAA level scenic areas and ten AAAA level tourist areas in 2010, and will also build at least six AAAAA level scenic areas and 15 AAAA level scenic areas. Meanwhile, it will speed up the development of special tours such as hiking, mountaineering, climbing, and bungee jumping.

According to Ba Zhu, the director of Tibet Tourism Bureau, if all the targets are achieved in ten years Tibet will become a distinctive world class tourist destination with special features, good environment, convenient traffic, comprehensive facilities, normative management, standardized service, an international market, and social development that can meet the needs of various groups.