Tibet reopens to foreign tourists

Tibet will be reopened to foreign tourists from Wednesday, China's official Xinhua news agency said, after the region was shut off to foreign visitors following riots there in March.

Xinhua cited Tanor, an official with the region's tourism administration, as saying the passing of the Olympic torch relay through Lhasa over the weekend proved that the region was stable enough to let foreign tourists back in.

"Tibet is safe. We welcome the domestic and foreign tourists," Xinhua quoted Tanor, who has only one name, as saying in a report on Tuesday.

The Chinese government closed Tibet to tourists following riots that erupted in Lhasa on March 14 and that spread to Tibetan areas in neighbouring provinces.

The region was reopened to domestic tourists on April 23 and to tourists from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan on May 1, Xinhua said.