Tibet Tourism ‘Hits Record High’ – BBC

Chinese state media have announced a leap of Himalayan proportions in the number of tourists going to Tibet, thanks in large part to the contentious opening last year of the Qinghai-Tibet rail line. BBC has the summary:

Just over four million tourists will have visited Tibet in 2007, an official said, an increase of 64% year on year.

The official put the increase down to better marketing and improved transport links, including the controversial high-speed rail service to China…Local Communist Party secretary Zhang Qingli said that Tibet was entering a “golden era” of tourism. [Full Text]

[Image Source: The American]