Tourism
In recent years Tibet's tourism has expanded rapidly, especially after the completion of Qingzang Railway in July 2006. Tibet received 2.5 million tourists in 2006, including 150,000 foreigners.
In 2007, the figure climbed to some 4 million visitors but fell to only 2,246,400 in 2008 on account of the region being closed to tourism from March till June.
Between January and July 2009, more than 2.7 million tourists visited the TAR, three times as many as for the same period in 2008, generating an income of 2.29 billion yuans.
In 2010, the region received 6.85 million tourists from home and abroad, generating revenues of 7.14 billion yuan ($11 million), 14 percent of its total GDP.
Between January 1st and November 30th, 2012, the T.A.R. received a record 10 million domestic and foreign tourists, as against more than 8.69 million visitors in 2011. Nearly 300,000 people are employed in the region's tourism sector, according to government figures.
Read more about this topic: Economy Of Tibet
Famous quotes containing the word tourism:
“In the middle ages people were tourists because of their religion, whereas now they are tourists because tourism is their religion.”
—Robert Runcie (b. 1921)