FOREIGN and domestic tour groups will be allowed to resume trips to Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, from May 1, the city’s tourism bureau announced Thursday.

Zhanor, the bureau’s vice director, said all travel agencies would be allowed to arrange group tours and individual travelers would also be welcome.

The resumption will see more than 100,000 people involved in the industry return to work.

The regional government suspended tourist permits to foreign travelers March 16 and the bureau recommended Chinese travel agencies postpone tour plans after the March 14 riot in Lhasa.

Zhang Qingli, the region’s Party chief, said earlier that normal social order should return as soon as possible to embrace tourist arrivals during the coming three-day May Day holiday.

The city reopened its landmark Potala Palace on March 26, for the first time since business was suspended after the riot, a move that the regional government said was to protect the precious cultural heritage and for the safety of tourists.

The lucrative and fast-growing tourism industry, the backbone of Lhasa’s service industry which makes up 70 percent of its total GDP, suffered most from the riot.

Tibet’s tourism took off in the 1980s. Lhasa received more than 2.7 million visitors last year and aims to increase the number by 30 percent to 3.3 million this year.(Xinhua)

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