During the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015), Tibet welcomed 67.89 million domestic and foreign tourists, amassing 87.4 billion yuan in tourism revenue.

During the 12th Five-Year Plan period, historic improvements were made to Tibet’s tourism infrastructure. The Lhasa to Shigatse section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway opened, as did the Lhasa to Nyingchi highway; 78,000 km of road was opened across the region; and Nyingchi, Shigatse and Ngari airports all opened, breaking the bottleneck of tourist traffic.

At the same time as improving the infrastructure, Tibet has also actively upgraded its tourism industry centered on being a “world tourist destination” in a major strategic position. Over the past few years, culture and tourism have become more and more integrated as Jokhang Temple was promoted to a 5A level scenic spot, Zhada Clay Forest- Guge became a national scenic area and the live-action show “Princess Wencheng” was performed on a regular basis.

Tibet also held a series of tourism festivals to attract large numbers of tourists. From Tibetan New Year to Nyingchi Peach Blossom Festival in the spring to Shannan Yarlung Cultural Festival and Shigatse’s  Qomolangma Cultural Festival in the summer. There is also Ngari’s Zhang Zhung Cultural Festival and the Tibet International Cultural Tourism Fair. Evidently, festival tourism has already become a booster for tourism development in Tibet.

With the tourism industry flourishing, more and more farmers’ lives are being enriched as they get involved in the tourism industry. Many farmers in the villages surrounding Ra-og Lake are using the advantageous scenery to start “Tibetan family” guesthouses, which are very popular with tourists. Family guesthouses in Nyingchi area are springing up everywhere with already more than 200 across the city.