Tibet shut for
travellers for 10-days in October
September 25, 2017
Tenzin Monlam Phayul.com
DHARAMSHALA, September 25: The so-called Tibet
Autonomous Region (TAR) will be closed for foreign travellers and
Tibetans living outside TAR for ten days next month from October
18-28, media reports say.
Considered as a politically sensitive region,
the travel ban has been placed due to the upcoming 19th National
Congress of the Communist Party of China later next month in
Beijing.
There has been no official announcement made,
however, there are reports of numerous local travel agencies in the
region receiving such notification earlier in the month.
A Tibetan working at an agency in Xining,
provincial capital of Qinghai Province, told Radio Free Asia that
the announcement of the ban was made through phone call around 10
days ago.
“During this period, it is not just foreigners
but also Tibetans living in the Amdo region of Qinghai who are not
allowed to travel in the region,” the source said on condition of
anonymity.
The employee at the travel agency expect the
tourism market of TAR to take a huge hit due to the ban, which
coincidently fall during the peak season.
The travel ban has been placed to avoid any
protests during the all-important National Congress, where Chinese
President Xi Jinping is expected to consolidate his power, analysts
say. However, according to another source high-level official
meetings have been scheduled in Lhasa during the time of the
ban.