China to make Tibet world's top tourist destination

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

PTI
By K J M Varma
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The Potala Palace in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. The site was built in the 7th century by Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo to greet his bride Princess Wen Cheng of the Tang Dynasty of China. After the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959, the Potala has been converted into a museum.

Beijing , May 17 - China has drawn ambitious plans to get 20 million tourists to Tibet in the next 10 years making Mount Everest , Brahmaputra Grand Canyon, Kailash Mansarovar and Potala Palace , the designated residence of Dalai Lama, as the focus of its campaign.

According to the roadmap, by the end of 2020, the number of annual visits to Tibet should reach 20 million and tourism revenue should reach 20 billion Yuan, making Tibet a world class tourism destination, official media reported here today.

Tibet 's tourism layout will focus on 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 would be from inbound tourists.