Tibet enjoying tourism boom thanks to Qinghai-Tibet Railway

The Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China is enjoying a booming tourism industry thanks to the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway over a year ago.

New Delhi, Aug.23 : The Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China is enjoying a booming tourism industry thanks to the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway over a year ago.

The railway, the highest in the world, has been bringing record numbers of tourists into the plateau, with inbound visitors reaching 2.5 million last year, a 40 percent jump from 2005, said Deng Xiaogang, vice chairman of region of Tibet during a press conference in Lhasa on August 22.

Opened in July 2006, the railway serves as a major transport link for passengers and goods. It has greatly decreased the cost of moving cargo to 0.12 Yuan per ton, compared with 0.27 Yuan by road, making commodities more accessible and cheaper for Tibetan residents. At the same time, more Tibetan products are finding their way to bigger markets in the country.

But tourism has created the biggest boost in this area. Faced with the unprecedented number of travellers from home and aboard, the vice-chairman said the regional government is paying great attention to preserving culture in the autonomous region where Tibetan residents have developed its own arts.

Deng played down concerns by some people that those flocking into the region to seek job opportunities might leave local residents unemployed. He said it was normal to see exchanges between Tibetans and people from other regions and provinces.

"Like people coming here, and more Tibetans are going to Beijing, Shanghai and other cities and settling down there," Deng told China Daily.

One of the attractions of the Tibet Autonomous Region is its clean air and blue skies. In order to minimize air pollution incurred from vehicles and industries related to tourism, Zhang Tianhua, head of the local environmental protection administration.

These are some of the many efforts the government is doing to ensure the "roof of the world" has a bright future.

ANI