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Hopes rise for Tibet tourism

2 May 2008

Hopes for the future of the Tibet tourism industry have been raised slightly after a small number of Chinese travellers began arriving in the region for the May Day holiday, according to reports.

Tibet's tourism administration said that about 200 people are expected to visit the autonomous region for the three-day holiday, the Xinhua news agency reports.

Bigger groups are set to arrive in Tibet after 5 May and it is hoped that about 600 visitors will arrive in mid-May, suggesting that the recent troubles in the region could soon begin to be forgotten.

At the current time, Tibet is closed to foreign visitors but there are hopes that this situation will change before long.

The tourism administration's deputy director said: 'We are planning to open Tibet to foreign tourists, but the specific date is not decided yet as the time is not right. However, it will not take long.'

At this time last year, Tibet would have been expecting to see around 5,000 tourists every day during the May Day holiday.

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