On the 9th in Lhasa, Padma Choling, Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region, set new goals for the development of Tibet's tourism industry in 2012: striving to receive over 10 million visitors and achieve tourism revenue of 12 billion yuan.
These targets represent an increase of 1.5 million visitors and 2.5 billion yuan, respectively, compared to 2011.
The Fifth Session of the Ninth Tibet Autonomous Regional People’s Congress opened in Lhasa during this period, with Padma Choling, on behalf of the People’s Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region, delivering a report to the assembly. The report projected that Tibet’s GDP in 2011 would reach 60.5 billion yuan, marking a 12.6% growth.
According to reports, in 2011, Tibet received 8.5 million domestic and international tourists, generating total tourism revenue of 9.5 billion yuan—an increase of 24.1% and 33%, respectively. Over 13,000 households, comprising more than 50,000 farmers and herders, were involved in tourism services.
Tourism authorities in Tibet previously analyzed that 2011 saw three major features: a notably larger increase in tourism revenue compared to visitor numbers, a significant upturn in the domestic tourism market to Tibet, and the first-time monthly reception surpassing 2 million visitors.
Padma Choling stated that in 2012, efforts will focus on deeply developing tourism products, enhancing tourism reception capacity and service levels, supporting rural tourism development, encouraging and guiding farmers and herders to participate in tourism services, emphasizing tourism safety, and striving to receive over 10 million visitors and achieve 12 billion yuan in revenue.
The Fifth Central Tibet Work Forum proposed building Tibet into “an important world tourism destination.” It is understood that, centered around this goal, Tibetan authorities have successively introduced a series of tailor-made measures for tourism development across various industries—including a tourism resource database, scenic area protection plans, and financial support policies—to promote the growth of the tourism industry.
