A forum to promote tourism in southwest China's Khampa region, where people of the Tibetan ethnic group have been living for generations, was held Tuesday in Yunnan Province.

Delegates from the tourism authorities and travel agencies gathered in Yunnan's Shangrila County to discuss building the "greater Shangrila ecological tourism area" in the Khampa region.

Deqen of Yunnan Province, Qamdo of Tibet Autonomous Region, Garze of Sichuan Province and Yushu of Qinghai Province signed an agreement to jointly develop tourism in the area.

"Building the 'greater Shangrila ecological tourism area' fits into the plan for rebuilding Yushu," said Wang Dongmei, deputy head of Yushu tourism department.

The project will promote the preservation of traditional Tibetan culture and local ecology while improving infrastructure and people's livelihoods in the region, said Wang Ping, president of the Chamber of Tourism, All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.

Uttara Sarkar from India has a travel agency and a cafe in Shangrila. Her agency receives about 1,000 visitors to Shangrila each year from different parts of the world.

"At the forum, we discussed new ways and policies to promote and develop the greater Shangrila area. I believe the Tibetan culture and picturesque scenery will attract more and more people to come here," Sarkar said.

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