BEIJING - Tibet reopened to tourists Wednesday, three months after the Chinese government banned visits by foreigners in the wake of violent anti-government riots and protests.
Officials from the Tibetan Tourism Bureau say the first group of foreign tourists, from Sweden, arrived at the airport near the capital, Lhasa, on Wednesday morning. China threw a curtain around Tibet and areas in nearby provinces with sizable Tibetan populations after the March violence, citing the safety of foreign tourists and journalists.
But a notice on the bureau's website said life in Lhasa had returned to normal, noting the June 21 torch relay "provided a more solid foundation for a stable society."
The torch relay, which was criticized by overseas Tibetan activist groups and had been considered a potential flashpoint, passed without event under heavy security.
The tourist bureau's notice said the struggle against "separatists" who want to split Tibet from China was over.
"Tibet's society is stable and harmonious, its markets bustling, and its environment beautiful," the notice said.
The March violence and the subsequent tourist ban have taken a major toll on Lhasa's economy, which has grown increasingly reliant on tourism since the start of rail service nearly two years ago.
Tibet had 4 million visitors in 2007, up 60 per cent from the previous year, the official Xinhua News Agency reported earlier this year. Tourism revenues hit US$687 million, more than 14 per cent of the economy.
Chinese domestic tour groups were allowed back into Tibet in late April, and over 160 groups have so far travelled there, the Tibetan Tourism Bureau said.
China says 22 people died in the anti-government protests in March. But overseas Tibet supporters say many times that number were killed in the riots and the resulting security crackdown across Tibetan regions of western China.
In the crackdown after the violence, Beijing held speedy trials and sentenced dozens involved in the riots to sentences ranging from years to life in prison.
In the wake of the protests, Buddhist monasteries seen as incubators for anti-government sentiment were surrounded by security forces and closed off to the outside as searches were conducted and monks forced to undergo intensified political indoctrination against the Dalai Lama.
