(TibetanReview.net, Oct19’24) – For the seventh year in a row, China-ruled Tibet has launched a winter tourism promotion drive in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), with ostensible aim to bring more income to local residents, offering discounts, freebies, and what not.
China claims that the drive will attract more tourists and bring more incomes to local residents. Many of these local residents will no doubt be Tibetans. But Tibetans are overwhelmingly farmers and herders, having little concern with tourism.
So, one of the main aims of this policy may be to ensure the sustenance and prosperity of the Chinese immigrant population which dominate the businesses in Tibet, including in the tourism sector. They may otherwise go back to China during winter season, like their counterparts in other sectors of Tibet’s economy. This population is expected to eventually redefine the region’s demographic and cultural identity in keeping with President Xi Jinping’s signature call for the Sinicization of Tibet.
The TAR has launched its 2024 winter tourism campaign, offering discounted air tickets, hotel vouchers, and free admission to tourist attractions to draw more visitors during the off-peak season, reported China’s state news agency Xinhua Oct 19.
As part of the “winter tour of Xizang” campaign, Xizang is offering 10,000 “buy-one-get-one-free” domestic flight tickets, 10,000 free domestic train tickets, and complimentary hotel vouchers at premium accommodations for tourists traveling to the region, the report said, using the Sinicized name for Tibet.
Special travel vouchers tailored for family tours and senior travellers have also been introduced, the report added.
Also provided again are free entry to A-rated tourist sites, including the iconic Potala Palace.
China’s tourist attraction rating system classifies sites from 1A to 5A based on overall tourism quality, with 5A being the highest grade.
The initiative, launched on Oct 18 in capital Lhasa, was stated to be aimed at maintaining steady tourism growth year-round, with the current round of promotions running from Oct 15 to Mar 15, 2025.
The event was stated to have seen the regional culture and tourism department signing cooperation agreements with Chinese provinces and cities. Local travel operators were also stated to have formed partnerships with international tour operators from countries including Australia, Thailand and Germany.
In 2023, TAR welcomed 55.17 million tourists, a year-on-year increase of 83.7%, generating total tourism revenue of 65.15 billion yuan (about 9.2 billion US dollars), up 60% from the previous year, the report said.
There has so far been little or no known study of tourism’s impact on the territory’s people, environment, society, and culture.
This bears relevance as the number of tourists visiting the region, who are overwhelmingly from China, exceeded 15 times the local population of 3.66 million as of last year.
This post was originally published on here
