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| June 8, 2012 | China bans tourists from visiting Tibet after spate of self-immolations | | Beijing: China has asked foreign travel agencies not to issue entry
permits to Tibet following a spate in self-immolation by Tibetans. According to Free Tibet, a campaign promoting Tibetan independence from China, there have
been more than 30 self-immolations since March 2011, ABC News reports. Most recently, on May 27, 2012 two Tibetans were the first to set them on fire in Lhasa, Tibet's tightly controlled administrative Capital. The shutdown also coincides with
the Saga Dawa festival, which celebrates the Buddha's birth and draws many Buddhists
to Tibet . The closure has come as a shock to tourist agencies. According to Nellie
Connelly, marketing director of WildChina, a prominent travel company that regularly
coordinates trips to Tibet , said that Chinese authorities informed the company
in mid-May that travelers would only be allowed to visit Tibet in groups of five
people of the same nationality. Last week, the government stopped issuing entry
permits to Tibet altogether. Following China 's ban, the loss of income for Tibetan
communities will be significant. Tibet received 21.25 million domestic and foreign
tourists in between 2006 and 2010, generating 3.58 billion dollars in income for
the country. Tourism is a staple of the region's economy. Tibet set a goal to
increase tourism revenue between 2011 and 2015 to more than 20 percent of its
gross domestic product. Beijing 's recent actions will make reaching 2012 targets
difficult.
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