Tourism authorities plan to allocate 10 million yuan (US$1.3 million) to renovate toilets in popular attractions in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

"We will appropriate 40 million yuan from the national tourism development fund to improve the region's tourism infrastructure," said Du Jiang, deputy head of the National Tourism Administration, at a conference on the development of Tibet's tourism industry in Lhasa yesterday.

"This is the largest sum we have ever allotted for a region's tourism development. Of the money, a quarter will be used for renovating toilets in tourist spots."

The natural sceneries and unique cultural attractions of the autonomous region have lured an ever-increasing number of tourists from home and abroad. Tibet expects to receive 4.02 million tourists this year, a year-on-year increase of 64 percent.

"Tibet has a bright future for developing its tourism industry," Du told the conference.

Tourism is Tibet's main industry. The region received 2.5 million tourists last year and reaped 2.77 billion yuan in total tourism earnings. This accounted for 9.6 percent of the region's gross domestic product.

(Xinhua News Agency December 19, 2007)