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A Group of
3 Top Agencies in Tibet on recognition of Tourism Authority of
Tibet (TTB) have formed a new set up called IPSC to deal with
the Indian Pilgrims for 2005. According to IPSC, they are the
only authority to deal with Indian Pilgrims' Mansarovar Yatra
for this year 2005 as authorized by the Tibet Tourism Bureau.
According
to IPSC new Chief Du Xio Lin, no other agencies have the power
to operate Mansarovar Yatra except themselves, even though there
is a general dissatisfaction among other Tour Operators who have
been organizing the YATRA for Indians for so many years in the
past. The other 2 players in the team are Jigme Wangchuk from
TIST & Huang Li Hua from TTC.
The IPSC is
claiming that they had to form this organized set up to regulate
a more organized system for the ever increasing Indian YATRA
Market from Nepal and India.
1.
But people believe there could be other reasons as well. The
number one cause for creating this unit may have been that
Kailash price was going down all the time because of the
unhealthy competition among the Tibetan and Nepalese Operators.
They want to stop this.
2. The
other cause could have been that Murari Bapu and His Band of
YATRIS went to Mount Kailash last year; paying 100% more money
to Tibet, according to popular Tourism Gossips out here. This
has been the big motivation factor
for the Tibetans, ever since.
Bapu and his Team of YATRIS
visited Kailash Mansarovar last year, and they have left behind
a very good image and goodwill of the Indian Pilgrims. They have
left a very high prestige of the Indians that Indians can pay. 
This may have been the single most
determining factor for the Tibetans to revise their price; even
though they claim to control the unhealthy undercutting
competition. It is just a few mischievous tour operators who may
be creating the non-sense, otherwise Indian Pilgrims are the
most up market clients Tibetans have been dealing with Great
Happiness.
Upholding High Image of the Indian
Pilgrims
3. The other rumour in Lhasa also suggests that Nepalese and Indian Operators have not paid hundreds of thousands of tour money to the Tibetan Operators. This has given them bad experience. So they are determined to draw a line of discipline,
a Laxman Rekha if you like,
among the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra operating Agencies through out world.
Nepalese and
Indian Yatra Operators are fighting back, stating that this
could kill the Yatra Business for 2005, only time will tell how
the Tibetan Authorities will react to this complaints. |
