New Delhi, July 19 : A deluge of international tourists, not to mention Chinese tourists, is set to overwhelm the sacred pilgrimage sites in Tibet as major travel agencies join the rush to sell tour packages on the recently launched Qinghai-Tibet railway. A travel agency in Vietnam is the latest to join the money-making bandwagon.
According to a July 18 report in Saigontimes daily, the Saigontourist Travel Service Co. in partnership with a Chinese company has launched a new two-week tour to Tibet after China inaugurated its first rail service between Beijing and Tibet. The eight-night and seven-day tour, which costs US$1,295 per person (inclusive of visa entry fee), starts from Ho Chi Minh City and takes in tourist attractions in Tibet and China. The first trip will begin next month.
In Lhasa, tourists will be taken to stupas, the Potala Palace, the Tibet museum of cultural relics, the Jokhang Temple, etc.
Lately, many independent reports have predicted that a booming tourism in Tibet could pose a threat to Tibet’s ancient religious sites that have been preserved for centuries. According to one estimate, the Potala Palace last year received 370,000 tourists along with 70,000 pilgrims. Next year, the figure is expected to increase to over 500,000 to 600,000 tourists, according to Qiangba Gesang, director of the palace administration quoted in a July 12 Globe and Mail report. In 1989, the total number of visitors to the palace was 90,000. Likewise, the report predicted that number of visitors to Jokhang Temple will double next year to 300,000.
Vo Anh Tai, director of the Vietnam-based travel company has said some tour operators in Ho Chi Minh City wanted to arrange tours to Tibet when the railway was first launched but found it difficult to buy tickets. Now that the company has a Chinese partner who also happens to be a train ticket agent for the rail service, the director can look forward to a ‘smooth-selling’ experience in Tibet.
