Tibet tourism up almost 28 percent in 2011

Tibet received 8.43 million tourists in the first 11 months of the year, an annual increase of 27.7 percent, the autonomous regional statistics bureau said Saturday.Of all, domestic tourists totalled 8.18 million, up 28.1 percent year on year, and overseas tourists numbered about 250,000, the bureau said in a press release.

Meanwhile, the region earned a tourism revenue of 9.3 billion yuan (1.5 billion U.S. dollars), up 39.4 percent year on year.The week-long Shoton Festival in summer, the peak travel season, alone drew 906,400 tourists to Tibet.

Shoton Festival is one of the most important festivals for Tibetans. It dates back to the 11th century when it began as a religious occasion for local residents to offer yogurt to monks finishing mediation retreats.

Around the 17th century, it evolved into an occasion featuring Buddhist rituals, Tibetan opera performances and other forms of entertainment.As tourism is a pillar industry for Tibet, the regional authorities have set a target of attracting 15 million tourists in 2015 with a tourism revenue of 18 billion yuan.

Source - eturbonews