Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region has been building infrastructure and training professionals ahead of the revival of the local tourism industry after the SARS outbreak.

Tibet has invested heavily in repairing tourist sites, upgrading roads and training tourist guides, said an official with the regional tourism administration.

Over 3 billion yuan (US$360 million) has been spent upgrading highways linking major tourism spots across Tibet.

Efforts have also been made to produce new kinds of souvenirs and making traditional Tibetan foods more palatable for foreigners.

The official said SARS had caused heavy financial losses to the local tourism sector. Since April, 233 tourist groups had been canceled, resulting in a direct loss of more than 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million).