Tibet to tighten tourism safety

An initiative to reduce potential tourism safety hazards on the plateau has been launched by the Tibet autonomous region.

"As an initiative to guarantee the safety of tourists in 2015, the regional government has designated this year '2015 Tibet Tourism Safety Year'," said Yu Dawa, an official of the regional tourism development committee via a videophone conference in the region’s capital Lhasa on Wednesday.

Stricter regulations and measures on tourism management have been carried out by the regional government since two fatal traffic accidents in the region last year.

"The major traffic accidents last year have taught us a tough lesson in the need of regulating tourism safety," Yu said.

Many representatives of the region's key travel agencies, hotels and officials attended the conference.

"Safety is the lifeline of tourism, and no safety means no tourism," said He Wenhao, deputy chairman of the regional government.

"We have worked hard to ensure frontline tourism staff including tourism managers and tour guides raise their awareness of safety and become familiar with aid measures."

All tourism vehicles in the region must adhere to strict speed and load limits with each vehicle being provided with a policeman, according to the conference.

Tibet welcomed 15.53 million domestic and overseas tourists last year with annual tourism revenue breaking through 20 billion yuan ($3.26 billion), up 20 percent, Xinhua News Agency reported.