by Xinhua writers Liu Xinyong, Dronla and Lyu Qiuping

LHASA, May 7 (Xinhua). With distinctive highland landscapes and constantly improving infrastructure, the tourism industry is thriving in the Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China and has brought tangible benefits to farmers and herders.

Despite the COVID-19 epidemic, the number of tourists traveling to Tibet increased in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2019. According to regional data, tourists by train increased by 20 percent and those by air by 28 percent.

The village of Tonglong, located around 4,700 meters above sea level in the Nyima municipality, is only about 30 km from the city of Nagqu. The village has a cooperative with one of the highest thermal springs in the world, which is now a popular thermal resort.

Nyima community leader Shi Zongbin said the village cooperative offers hot spring baths, thermal therapies, accommodation and shopping for visitors.

Last year, the cooperative had sales of 1.69 million yuan ($ 261,000) and distributed dividends of 900,000 yuan to 75 households in the cooperative and an additional 200,000 yuan in wages.

“Apart from the dividends, the villagers take turns doing chores such as cleaning. I can get 500 yuan a month,” said Jidar, a shepherd in the village.

The plateau now has more than 100 highly rated tourist attractions, over 2,700 tourism businesses, and more than 2,300 homestay locations. The industry’s fixed investment has exceeded 20 billion yuan.

This year, the annual Peach Blossom Festival was held in Nyingchi City between March 27 and April 2, attended by 527,000 tourists from around the country, an increase of more than 37 percent from 2019. Tourism revenue increased by 67 percent, according to figures , 62 percent to 176 million yuan the city’s tourism development bureau.

Zhao Hongyun, first secretary of the Suosong Village Party Committee in Nyingchi, said the village’s tourism industry has been booming in recent years thanks to the festival, among other things.

The village now has 128 households and 424 residents. Nobody leaves the village for work as they can find work in the village’s own hostels, restaurants and other shops.

“In the high season, we even have to hire people from the surrounding villages,” said Zhao.

In 2016-2020, Tibet received over 157 million domestic and foreign tourists – 2.3 times the number in the past five years. According to the regional tourism development agency, tourism helped lift 75,000 poor people out of poverty in Tibet during the reporting period.

Zhao said his village plans to further improve its infrastructure and improve the conditions of its hostels.

“Society is changing and we should also improve our services to keep up with the times,” he said.

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