China accelerates tourism development in Tibet

Tourism authorities have been working to make southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region a major destination, a senior tourism official said Friday.

"Tibet is the last classic treasure on the map, with its religious mystery, sound environment and many historic sites," Du Jiang, deputy director of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), told Xinhua in an interview.

Compared with other regions in China, Tibet has plenty of space to develop, given its rich and relatively untapped tourist resources, Du said

Tibet received 12.91 million domestic and overseas tourists last year, up 22 percent from the previous year, according to CNTA data.

The influx of tourists brought Tibet 16.5 billion yuan (2.7 billion U.S. dollars) of revenue in 2013, or more than one-fifth of the local economy.

Du stressed that tourism authorities and local governments will strike a balance between development and ecological protection.