Official support for tourism
On July 22, Tibet’s Communist Party Secretary Wu Yingjie visited Tibet’s Tourism Bureau, urging it to be “more efficient” in responding to the needs of mainland Chinese visitors, and to restore Tibet’s tourism industry to its pre- COVID-19 status, another source told RFA.
He then strolled through Lhasa markets, greeting the Chinese tourists that he saw, the source said.
“Lhasa and other places in Tibet are becoming important tourist attractions for Chinese visitors, and this is having an adverse impact on the Tibetan people’s way of life,” the source said, adding, “Their daily rituals, cultural traditions, and customs are becoming marginalized.”
“Many Tibetans are concerned that younger Tibetans are now growing up in an environment where they have become separated from their culture, and that their culture is becoming increasingly irrelevant to them.”
Lhasa meanwhile remains under tight police surveillance, with CCTV cameras mounted at the corners of every major street, the source said.
Reported by Kalden Lodoe and Lhuboom for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Dorjee Damul. Written in English by Richard Finney.