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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.
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