Tibet tourism officials target domestic market

Tourism authorities of the Tibet autonomous region are making efforts to attract more domestic tourists, especially those from rich coastal regions of China, with recent promotional campaigns.

At an event held in Beijing on May 14, a representative of the Tibetan tourism administration introduced seven different travel routes for Beijing's tourism agencies.

The administration said the region is working to update Tibetan tourism, with the development of Lhasa and Nyingchi as important tourism destinations and a series of tourism products in other areas.

To promote tourism in the domestic market, the administration will focus on three key areas — the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area, which have huge potential, the authority said.

The region has built a comprehensive transportation network, and problems with entering the region have been solved.

In 2013, the region attracted 12.68 million domestic tourists, an increase of 22 percent year-on-year, and the region reported a total of 223,000 inbound trips, a rise of 14 percent.

The total revenue of the Tibetan tourism sector in 2013 was 16.51 billion yuan ($2.65 billion), up 30.6 percent from 2012.