Travel News

Tourists invited back to Tibet

Tibet is set to reopen to tourists following riots and violent clashes that troubled the region in March.

Protestors against the Chinese government's rule over Tibet clashed with authorities in capital city Lhasa on March 14th and two days later the regional government stopped issuing tourist permits to foreign travellers.

However, visitors from home and abroad will be able to visit Tibet again from May 1st, according to China's state news provider Xinhua.

The agency said that Tibet's tourism office will allow travel firms to arrange tours from the beginning of May and independent travellers will also be welcome, although all visitors would be wise to get proper travel insurance beforehand.

Zhang Qingli of the Communist Party of China said it was important for normal social order to be restored so Tibet could welcome visitors during the International Labour Day holiday in May.

The unrest in Tibet was a source of unwelcome bad publicity for China ahead of the Olympic Games in Beijing later this year.

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