Strained relations between Tibet and China threaten to impair tourism in Tibet and negate China’s efforts to promote tourism in the run-up to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Pro-Tibet demonstrations have already disrupted the Olympic torch relay in London, Paris and San Francisco. The disruptions have generated more headlines than the Games themselves.
International pressure on China in the critical final months leading up the Games has mounted since violence broke out in the Tibetan region of China on March 14. Tens, if not hundreds, of Tibetan protesters, civilians and police officers have been killed, according to news reports (Chinese and Tibetan officials dispute the death toll).
Several international leaders, including President George W. Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, have not ruled out the possibility of not attending the Games’ opening ceremony. And last week, a spokeswoman for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Brown will not attend the opening ceremony.
And while the negative publicity is casting a dark shadow over the Games, which will take place Aug. 8 to 24, an even darker one is looming over Tibet’s ailing tourism industry.
On March 21, the U.S. State Department issued a travel alert advising Americans to defer travel to Tibet. The alert is valid until April 21. Furthermore, there have been reports that the Chinese government is blocking travel to Tibet.
“The Chinese government is still not allowing tourists into Tibet,” said Steve Born, Globus' vice president of marketing.
In response, several tour operators either canceled their April itineraries to Tibet or altered China itineraries to bypass Tibet. Travcoa, for instance, canceled its April departure to Tibet because the environment is uncertain, the company said. Travcoa is allowing customers to rebook for the next departure to Tibet in August, take a tour to a different destination or receive a full refund.
Globus did not cancel tours that include Tibet, but the company did alter them. On one trip, Globus is adding nights in Beijing, Chengdu and Chongqing to replace the Tibet portion of the itinerary. An Avalon Waterways river cruise is substituting three nights in Lhasa with three nights in Guilin. Customers will have the option to accept the changes, choose an alternate departure date and transfer the cost of their original vacation, or cancel without penalty, said Born.
At Collette Vacations, an early April departure to Tibet was canceled, and there could be more cancellations. The early April departure was to be the first in Collette's new Tibet program.
“It would appear that the situation is not improving, and we will likely not be operating to Tibet in the near term, though we will be operating to China,” said John Galvin, Collette Vacations' chief financial officer.
Of its remaining eight Tibet departures in 2008, Collette currently has more than 100 bookings and had anticipated a total of 360, based on normal booking patterns. The unrest in Tibet threatens Collette's ability to reach that threshold, however.
“At this point, we may need to cancel future trips to Tibet if the situation does not improve,” said Galvin.