|
LHASA, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese airlines on Sunday revved up flights to Tibet Autonomous Region ahead of the annual tourist high season of summer and autumn.
Tibet is linked to 30 domestic and foreign destinations including Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Kathmandu by regular passenger air routes. Flights are suspended or reduced in winter as demand drops with the plateau temperature.
Sources with Tibet's civil aviation authorities said for Sunday, Chongqing-Lhasa, Hangzhou-Dazhou-Lhasa, Chengdu-Kangding-Lhasa flights will resume while the frequency of Beijing-Lhasa, Chengdu-Lhasa flights will be increased. A new route to Lhasa will be added, with another soon, from the cities of Zhengzhou and Hefei.
The airlines will follow the summer/autumn schedule through to October 28.
More than 23 million tourists visited Tibet in 2016, up 15 percent year on year. Festivals in particular were a big draw.
The regional government aims to receive over 30 million tourists a year by 2020, contributing 55 billion yuan (8 billion U.S. dollars) to its revenue.
