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Travel to Tibet to get tougher for foreigners
LHASA – China has tightened restrictions on travel by foreigners in the restive Himalayan region of Tibet after five American activists recently unfurled a banner at the foot of Mount Everest to protest against the staging of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
The new rules were confirmed by an official with the state-run China Travel Service in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.
The restrictions will also stop foreigners applying for a permit to enter the region from the office of the Tibetan travel bureau in the southwestern city of Chengdu, from where there are direct flights to Lhasa.
The head office in Lhasa, which operates under police supervision, must now approve all travel.
Tibetan authorities had hoped that the new train service would boost tourism.
Rajeev Kohli of Creative Travel India said the new rules could cool the enthusiasm of foreign tourists if they are limited to visiting Lhasa and are then forced to complete complex procedures in order to leave the city, even as part of a tour group.
Ian Jarrett
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