Shenzhen Airlines began its first flight from Shenzhen to Lhasa
yesterday in a bid to get a slice of the booming tourism industry
in the
Tibet Autonomous Region.
With a stopover in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, it
will take about five-and-a-half hours to fly from Shenzhen, a
southern city bordering Hong Kong, to Lhasa.
"As the first air route to link Tibet and Shenzhen, the new
route will greatly promote the exchanges in economy, culture and
tourism between Lhasa, Chongqing and Shenzhen," vice-president of
Shenzhen Airlines Liu Jianping said.
"It will also play a positive role for Tibet in attracting
outside investment and tourists from the Pearl River Delta areas,"
he said.
The carrier will have four flights every week.
Tibet's tourist arrivals are expected to surpass 3 million by
the end of this year, which will double by 2010, according to a
forecast by the tourism authority.
(China Daily August 11, 2007)
