Tibet reopens to Chinese tour groups, no word on return of foreign visitors

Christopher Bodeen, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEIJING - China is welcoming domestic tour groups back to riot-hit Tibet. But there is no word on when foreign tourists will be allowed to return.

China's official Xinhua news agency reports that four groups of Chinese visitors are expected to arrive in the Himalayan region through Tuesday.

However, Xinhua quotes the region's deputy tourism director as saying he doesn't know when Tibet will be reopened to foreign tourists.

Foreigners have bee banned since violent anti-government riots broke out in the capital, Lhasa, on March 14.

China earlier said it would allow foreigners back into Tibet starting May 1. But Beijing later reversed that decision, citing the need to secure safe passage for the Olympic torch relay to Mount Everest, an event expected in early May.

"Tourists needn't worry about their trip in Tibet, and we can ensure good services for them, such as catering, hotel and transport," Zhanor, who like many Tibetans uses just one name, told Xinhua.

"Tibet will keep its image as a safe, healthy and civilized tourist destination," he said.

But in a sign of continuing concern over security, Tibet's hardline regional government vowed Thursday to deal firmly with people spreading rumours aimed at creating civil strife.

"Since the March 14 incident in Lhasa some hostile forces both from home and abroad with secret motives have tried to spread rumours, create disturbances and deceive the public," a notice on the Tibetan government website said Thursday.

China says 22 people died in the Lhasa violence, while overseas Tibet supporters say many times that number have been killed in protests and the security crackdown across Tibetan regions of western China.

China alleges separatists supported by the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, are behind the anti-China protests.

The riot and resulting security crackdown are believed to have taken a major toll on Lhasa's economy, which has grown increasingly reliant on tourism since the start of rail service two years ago. Tibet received four million visitors last year, up 60 per cent from 2006.

© The Canadian Press, 2008