Tibet's tourism industry is still trying to shake off the impact of the March 14 riot, a government briefing on the economic situation there heard on Wednesday.
The disturbance caused a 69-percent year-on-year decline in first-half tourist arrivals in this western China region, to just 342,000 people, according to a government spokesman at the meeting.
The regional government's tourist income stood at 290 million yuan (42 million U.S. dollars) in the first half, down 71 percent, he said.
The riot led to the deaths of at least 18 civilians and one policeman. It also left 382 civilians and 241 police injured, businesses looted and residences, shops and vehicles torched.
After the riot, the regional government stopped issuing tourist permits to overseas travelers and suggested travel agencies postpone group tours. It cited safety concerns and the reconstruction of tourism facilities around scenic spots damaged in the unrest.
Tibet was re-opened to domestic tour groups on April 24, followed by visitors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan in May and foreign tourists on group tours as of June 25.
The tourist authority's figures show that one month after the riot, visitor arrivals were just 2,000, a dive of 90.8 percent from a year earlier.
Three months after order was restored, tourism began showing signs of recovery. The region hosted 91,000 visitors in June and is poised for an inflow of 350,000 visitors in July.
The remote southwestern region experienced a tourism boom in the past few years, especially since the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet railway on July 1, 2006 -- the first rail link between Tibet and the rest of China.
Tibet had 4 million domestic and foreign tourists last year, up 60 percent from 2006. Tourism revenue reached 4.8 billion yuan in 2007, accounting for more than 14 percent of the region's gross domestic product.
Before the riots, tourism had experienced robust growth, with 110,000 tourists, including 6,000 from overseas, in the first two months, up 60 percent from the same period a year earlier.