China to blacklist tourists defacing Mt Everest

 China will introduce a blacklist system to name and shame errant tourists who deface Mt Everest and other historic scenic spots in Tibet with graffiti and doodles.

"Starting this year, we will set up a blacklist system to punish badly-behaved tourists, such as those who leave graffiti. The blacklist will be made public through media outlets," said Gu Chunlei, deputy head of the tourism bureau of Tibet's Tingri county.

Condemning tourists who doodled on the tablets, he said they have now "lost their beauty."

The busy tourist season on Mt Everest, known in Tibet as Mt Qomolangma, begins every May with an influx of tourists arriving at the Base Camp.

The total number of trips to the Base Camp topped 40,000 in 2015 and an average of 550 trips were made every day during the busy season, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Tourism is booming in Tibet as over 4.3 million tourists mostly Chinese visited the Himalayan region in the first eight months of 2015 raking up a revenue of USD 3 billion.
Some of the visitors have left tablets at the camp and a viewing platform at the entrance of Jiawula Pass covered with doodles, Gu said.

The Everest Base Camp is located 5,200 metres above sea level and allows climbers and tourists to rest. Online photos showed one tablet covered with doodles, mostly signatures.

One piece of graffiti, right in the middle of a tablet, read "tonight we hunt tigers" next to a drawing of a tiger claw, state-run Global Times reported.

"We will separately set up tablets for graffiti to meet the tourists' demand," Gu said.