The Tibet Autonomous Region is said to have arranged 46 million yuan in 2008 to rejuvenate its tourist industry that was hit by the March 14 riots.

Statistics from the Tibet Autonomous Region's Tourism Bureau show that in November 2008, Linzhi received 24,000 tourists from home and abroad, an increase of 4.8% over the same period of the previous year and it was the first region in Tibet whose tourism increased since the disturbances. Lhasa received 105,000 tourists in the same month, a decrease of 4.62% compared with the same period of 2007.

In March 2008, Tibet's tourism reached a historical low. In that month, the region received only 14,200 tourists, a decrease of 48.7% over the same period of the previous year and its tourism income declined by 40.6% during the period.

Tibet's tourism department is said to have carried out a range of measures, including price reduction, incentive travel, and promotions to revive its tourism. In order to further stimulate the tourism development, Tibet plans to set up a 50 million yuan fund this year especially for tourism promotion and tourism development.

(China Hospitality News January 21, 2009)