The Tibetan inbound tourism management system, aiming to simplify processing procedures of travel permits for foreigners, has been put into trial operation this month.
"Processing time is expected to be shortened to about 5 working days after the platform is put into [full] operation," said Yuan Xiaorong, an official with the Tourism Development Department of Tibet Autonomous Region, China News Service reported.
According to Tibet news website tibet.cn, the system started its trial on August 1. The Tourism Development Department has conducted online training on material submission for employees of more than 90 travel agencies in the region.
To travel to the Tibet Autonomous Region, all international travelers are required to apply for a travel permit. Tourists from the island of Taiwan must also apply for a travel permit. Previously, it required about 15 days to process a travel permit.
The Tibet regional government in January proposed to halve the approval time for travel permits to overseas visitors and improve the travel service management plans for foreign visitors, the China News Service reported.
According to official data, Tibet received 13.4 million tourists from home and abroad between January to June, an increase of 20.2 percent compared to the same period last year. Total tourism income from January to June increased 19.8 percent, reaching 14.9 billion yuan.
Before, it took at least 15 days to receive a permit after the requisite documents had been submitted, but the department said that under the new system, the wait will be cut to three to five days.
