Shenzhen Airlines began its first flight from Shenzhen to Lhasa yesterday in a bid to get a slice of the booming tourism industry in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

With a stopover in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, it will take about five-and-a-half hours to fly from Shenzhen, a southern city bordering Hong Kong, to Lhasa.

"As the first air route to link Tibet and Shenzhen, the new route will greatly promote the exchanges in economy, culture and tourism between Lhasa, Chongqing and Shenzhen," vice-president of Shenzhen Airlines Liu Jianping said.

"It will also play a positive role for Tibet in attracting outside investment and tourists from the Pearl River Delta areas," he said.

The carrier will have four flights every week.

Tibet's tourist arrivals are expected to surpass 3 million by the end of this year, which will double by 2010, according to a forecast by the tourism authority.

(China Daily August 11, 2007)