I. Ecological Tourism Infrastructure

II. Cultural Tourism Opportunities

III. Adventure Sports Tourism

IV. Green Technology Home Products Industry

I am from California, America‘s leader in eco-tourism, cultural-tourism, adventure sports tourism, and green technology products. I know a bit about Tibet - taught English in Tibet one summer while at MInzu University and visited it 3 other times as a tourist. My Tibetan students have shared generously with their knowledge of their culture and upbringing.

Because of its unique location on top of world and its unique culture, Tibet presents a number of key opportunities for innovative ecological, cultural, and outdoor sports tourism as well as for green household product manufacturing.

This abstract focuses on opportunities to increase jobs for thousands of local jobs and small businesses for regular Tibetans. It points the way for investment opportunities for Tibetan business persons who wish to protect Tibet‘s unique environment and culture.

I. ECO-TOURISM

More and more Chinese families are traveling as China shifts to domestic service economy. Increasingly, many college educated Chinese want eco-travel and cultural tourism trips. This is the future growth market of tourism. They also often want to travel privately and not always in large groups.

This smaller family and family size is perfect for ecological and cultural tourism. Because of Tibet‘s vast natural plains, mountains, and valleys, there is a large potential for eco-tourism:

·  hiking in valleys, small hills & along rivers

·  camping

·  river fishing and boating

·  staying in a simple country cabins

Low-impact eco-tourism immediately employs thousands of Tibetans in rural areas. It is low-cost investment to develop eco-infrastructure - its simpler.

1. Employ many local Tibetans throughout Tibet where they live, not just in Lhasa and other cities;

2. Many Tibetans can own small guest houses & restaurants for tourists;

3. New jobs as guides, drivers, and other service work.

4. Develop the AirBnB style style where Tibetan families can rent out a room in their own home for tourists

5. Low-impact on the environment - keeping it green and clean. Younger Chinese want to enjoy nature and keep China clean and green, too.

6. Does not require huge investment, just enough money for simple hotels, maintaining trails in safe condition, and apps to book local home-stays, tours, and guides.

Many tourist already flood Qomolangma Base camp and Lake Namtso. Yet, these scenic spots remain wild and undeveloped. So people keep coming. Some are complaining a little that Lake Namtso is getting so crowded, that sometimes you cannot enjoy it in peace. They want a break from the city!

But there are so many other wonderful mountains, valleys and lakes throughout Tibet to be enjoyed in peace. Through careful planning ,Tibet can spread out the new eco-tourism opportunities to each region. Tibetans everywhere can benefit from tourist dollars & locally owned small businesses.

Tibet Offers the Experience of Peace.

By limiting the amount of tourists each season, no region will be so busy and so touristic that people don‘t want to go there anymore. Peace is a an Experience that overworked city people travel for. Eco-tourism is low impact.

Tibet offers this Experience of the Peace of Nature.

Less is More for Eco-Tourists!

II. CULTURAL TOURISM

Tibetan Cultural tourism is a natural complement to Eco-Tourism. They are as close as lips and teeth. There is high interest in Tibetan culture, rural and nomadic lifestyle, and spirituality. Each of the seven official regions within Tibet are slightly different in dress, jewelry, customs, foods, music, dance, religious practices, and even their accents. So, each region can offer unique cultural tourism programs.

Thus, there is huge cultural tourism potential:

1. Some visitors want short-term cultural and language study programs, one to three weeks.

2. Many would enjoy staying a few days in a local Tibetan‘s home and sharing their meals.

3. Tibetans can develop AirBnB type apps to book these tourists.

4. Their sons or daughters earn extra money as day-guides for local trips.

5. Other tourist might enjoy experiencing nomadic life for a week or two during the summer when it is not so cold and fun to do so.

6. A special network of new Eco and Cultural travel agencies can rise like grass in spring to service this growing tourism market.

III. ADVENTURE SPORTS TOURISM

China Winter Olympics 2012

Summer Adventure Sports

Winter Snow Sports: Because of the China Winter Olympics 2022, more and more Chinese will want to learn snow sports:

1 Downhill Skiing & Cross-country Skiing

2 Snow-boarding

3 Ice-skating

Ski resorts create many jobs for local people. It requires infrastructure and resort hotels, but can be built to fit into the environmental in a nice way.

Summer Adventure Sports: More and more tourists travel to nature to challenge themselves in outdoor adventure sports. Because Tibet has so many kinds of natural landscapes, many rural areas can offer these low-cost, low environmental impact sports during spring, summer, and fall:

1 Rafting down fast rivers and kayaking

2 Cliff climbing - freehand style

3 Mountain climbing with ropes: beginning, middle, and advance levels

4 Hang-gliding

These businesses can be spread out over many rural areas help rural families start businesses, just like eco and cultural tourism. Their impact on the environment is very, very low.

IV. GREEN TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS MANUFACTURING JOBS

There is much opportunity to build household devices for export throughout China and later the world. This is because Tibet is an obvious testing ground for energy-saving home devices like solar-driven water heaters, washing machines, kitchen ware like rice cookers, ovens, microwaves, blenders, and other natural energy driven household products.

Increasingly, China and the world is turning away from coal and gas based electricity and want natural power driven home and kitchen products. Because of strong sun for many months and much wind, Tibet is the ideal place to test, develop, and manufacture green technology household products for consumers.

1. Local Tibetan businessman can form partnerships with Haier and other successful Chinese home product companies.

2. Together, they can manufacture products developed and tested in Tibet.

3. By using local green energy, pollution can be kept to a minimum.

4. Tibet is near many natural resources: raw material costs can be lower.

5. Tibet has many new highways, train lines, and airports: cost of product transport is reasonable.

6. Factories can be constructed at low cost outside the big cities to give manufacturing jobs to many rural Tibetans.

7. This will give rural families an alternative to farming and herding.

8. Regular family income allows their children to stay in school longer.

9. Factories can be low-impact: located out in different areas to spread employment and also to not heavily impact the local environment

CONCLUSION

The future of locally-based manufacturing and eco-cultural-adventure sports tourism employment & locally owned small businesses is great. All we have to do is think innovatively, adjust to local conditions, think & act green, open to new ideas and to new markets, and share our skills and knowledge to achieve success!

(William Poy Lee, Professor, Beijing Foreign Studies University)