Last month’s deadly riots in Tibet, a wonderful region known for it’s majestic scenery and exotic religious culture, has had its impact felt on an otherwise fast-growing tourism industry as the government bars foreign visitors.
Because the ban on inbound tourists, as well as a lack of local ones, travel agents, hotels and shops in different Tibetan areas say they now have no customers.
As Reuters reports, some hotels are still suffering after the Lhasa riots.
At the three-star Shambala Hotel that features ornate Tibetan decor and hearty yak meat meals in downtown Lhasa, all 100 rooms were empty on Wednesday, a sales department staffer said.
Gloria Guo, a business department staffer with the Xi’an-based Internet travel service TravelChinaGuide.com says, tour bookings are also down as the government has not said when it will let tourists in again.
The violent riot in Lhasa on 14 March 14 came as a result of a series of monk-led protests. China says that 18 civilians died in the violence, but an exiled representative of the Dalai Lama, who China accuses of planning the upsets, claims that there were instead about 140.
Via EastSouthWestNorth, Robert’s Space, posts an account of the riots.
March 14, 2008 will be a day that will be forever remembered in Tibetan history, and even in Chinese history. In March 2008 of this new millennium, a mob openly burned temples and shops and assaulted members of other ethnic groups. In an instant, black smoke rose over all Lhasa as the people grew anxious.
This issue is rather bothersome, and as Zhao Xijun a finance professor at Renmin University of China believes, the loss will be huge because tourism is vital for area. “The lack of income will affect normal expenses, meaning that hotels and travel agents will see losses.”
Photo:© Jacques de Goldfiem
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