Holding a plank and an engraver, Phuntsog Tsering carefully carves a Tibetan character in front of visitors, hoping the traditional craft can help attract more tourists to his hometown.

Phuntsog, 61, comes from Derge County of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Sichuan Province. The county, the biggest Tibetan woodblock printing base, is desperate to grow tourism to boost the local economy.

An exhibition on Derge's culture opened this week in Sichuan's capital Chengdu, with Phuntsog one of a number of master craftsmen present to promote the county's paintings, carvings and literature.

Despite local officials' best efforts over the past decade, the county's tourism development remains stagnant.

"We have the best tourism resources, such as Tibetan calligraphy, medicine and dances," said Lin Tao, a Derge tourism official.

But Lin said tourism is held back by poor public transportation and budgeting constraints. It currently takes two days to travel from Chengdu to Derge, which has no airport.

The scene is in stark contrast to neighboring Dechen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province. Dechen received a staggering 20 million tourists in 2014, generating 8 billion yuan (1.2 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue, while Garze, which administers Derge, earned only 8 million yuan from tourism.

In Derge, about 40,000 tourists visited last year, according to Lin.

Things may be looking up though.

In late 2015, the central authorities approved a plan to build an airport in Derge with more than 2 billion yuan of investment. Gesar Airport, expected to be completed in 2018, will slash the travel time from Chengdu to four hours.

The Derge government has submitted a development plan for the next five years, with investment in infrastructure projects amounting to about 2 billion yuan. The plan is awaiting approval by the central government.

Since 2012, the Chengdu government has pumped 180 million yuan to help with Derge's development, with hospitals, schools and an exhibition center having been constructed already.

Meanwhile, the Derge government has invited experts from Nepal, theUnited StatesandFranceto help make a plan for tourism development.

"We hope to attract foreign visitors, like Nepal and Bhutan do," Lin said.

"Everyone should visit our county at least once," said Phuntsog as he carved Tibetan characters. "It's a beautiful place for a vacation and somewhere to experience a unique culture up close."