Tourism might take a hit, despite Olympics

Zhongdian, Tibet in Yunnan
by fredalix via FlickrTour operators were already suggesting a drop in interest for China among tourist, well ahead of the riots in Tibet and the recent visa restrictions. China's authorities hope that by the summer Tibet might be ready for tourists again, as Reuters says here, but the question is whether tourists are also ready.
High prices and limited flight ability caused by the 2008 Olympics in Beijing have already made many people rethink their plan of visiting China this year. Now Tibet, one of the more popular tourist destinations, has dropped off the list of destinations and the expected restrictions for tourist visa might add to the problems at least until the Olympics and the Paralympics are over in September.
As always, the creative people at the official news agency Xinhua could give a positive turn to all this, here according to Reuters:

"Tourists visiting the city these days will find that they needn't stand in line for the usually hard-to-get tickets for popular attractions," it reported from the city.

Last year four million tourists have visited Tibet, greatly contributing also to its economic wellbeing.