By Carrie Chan in Lhasa and Jonathan Cheng
After 60 days of operation, the Qinghai- Tibet railroad to Lhasa has made travel to the Roof of the World more accessible than ever for the outside world.
But Hong Kong tourists looking for a taste of Tibet may find themselves on a faster track, with the China Aviation Bureau currently considering the possibility of direct flights between Hong Kong and Lhasa.
The news, revealed Wednesday by Yang Haibin, vice chairman of the People’s Government of Tibet Autonomous Region, is lacking in detail since the arrangement has not been approved.
But Yang confirmed that plans had been submitted to the bureau and would likely be limited to package tour groups.
Speaking to journalists on a media tour to Tibet using the newly opened railroad, Yang also introduced a new airport that will be opening in a few days in Linzhi – a tourist spot whose natural beauty has been compared with Sichuan province’s Jiuzhaigou.
The civil airport in Linzhi, Tibet’s third, is reported to be able to handle more than 100,000 passengers a year, and will see its first flights tomorrow, Yang said.
Direct flights will arrive there from Chengdu, the capital of neighboring Sichuan province.
Put together, plans like these are expected to further accelerate the massive changes already being wrought in Tibet by Beijing’s attempts to open up this pristine region to development.
So far, Yang said, the new railroad from Qinghai has brought in 2.6 million tourists in July and August – almost twice as many as the 1.5 million tourists who arrived in Tibet during the same period last year.
“This is going to give a strong push to the economic and social development of Tibet,” Yang said.
The rail link adds a third option to the two existing modes of entry to Tibet – roads and airplanes.
But the railway is only expected to strengthen the aviation industry’s foothold in the region, Yang said, since the majority of tourists are planning “circular itineraries” that combine a train ticket into or out of Tibet with a one- way plane ticket in the opposite direction.
Already, Yang said, the aviation industry has seen a jump in traffic, with authorities reporting 47 percent growth in July.
Among the five biggest airlines, the daily 13 flights has already been increased to 25 flights, and projections for 2006 estimate tourist traffic at 1.1 million to Tibet – up from 800,000 last year.
Meanwhile, planned railway links to Nepal, India, Yunnan province and Xinjiang will create what Yang calls a “composite transportation link in the region.” He added: “Tibet is going to be more open. People will get smarter, and when you get smarter, you develop faster.”
In addition to increased tourism, Yang is also expecting massive growth in logistics and import-export, now that the train link is open.
Transportation costs to and from Tibet, which make up a significant portion of production costs, will fall to about 0.12 yuan (HK$0.11) per kilometer for goods sent by train, compared with current costs of about 0.30 yuan to 0.40 yuan per kilometer for goods sent by highway.
Yang is throwing open the door for Hong Kong investors interested in getting in on the Tibet boom. He said a “free financing policy” would encourage investment in the region, adding there was a need for more hotels – many of which were already seeing 90 percent room occupancy, year-round.
Yang also promised that some of the benefits would trickle down to the region’s people. The government was planning its first subsidies to farmers, so they can build their own homes. He also said the authorities would expand Tibet’s electricity network.
