annual exports. Traditional handicrafts The rapid economic development of the T.A.R. has brought about a revival of traditional handicrafts. Many Tibetans today draw a significant part of their income from selling handicraft and cultural products to tourists, or even to other Tibetans. Founded in 1953, the state carpet-making factory in Lhasa has turned into a modern enterprise whose products are sold in Europe, North America and South Asia. Tourism In recent years Tibet's tourism has expanded rapidly, especially after the completion of Qingzang Railway in July 2006. Tibet received 2.5 million tourists in 2006, including 150,000 foreigners. In 2007, the figure climbed to some 4 million visitors but fell to only 2,246,400 in 2008 on account of the region being closed to tourism from March till June. Between January and July 2009, more than 2.7 million tourists visited the TAR, three times as many as for the same period in 2008, generating an income of 2.29 billion yuans. In 2010, the region received 6.85 million tourists from home and abroad, generating revenues of 7.14 billion yuan, 14 percent of its total GDP. Between January 1 and November 30, 2012, the T.A.R. received a record 10 million domestic and foreign tourists, as against more than 8.69 million visitors in 2011. Nearly 300,000 people are employed in the region's tourism sector, according to government figures. Agriculture Agricultural pests Plutella xylostella is a pest almost everywhere cruciferous vegetables are grown, including the Plateau. The various weedy forms of Cannabis which have now spread worldwide originated on the northeast edge of the Plateau, in Tibet and Qinghai. Tibetan populations of Locusta migratoria show adaptations which allow them to respond better to hypoxia. Overall Tibet has been invaded by fewer agricultural insect threats, mostly because of its lack of sea access. Coastal economic expansion has allowed for invasions to occur, but as Tibet also begins to grow economically, it too may suffer the same fate. References External links and sources "Tourism, government spending boost Tibet’s living standard": Canadian columnist Guidelines For International Development Projects And Sustainable Investment In Tibet (site Tibet.com) Impoverishing Tibetans (2000, site of TCHRD) npr.org infoplease.com english.people.com.cn china.org english.people.com.cn case.edu For details on the nature of economic development and the economic causes of unrest in Tibet, see Ben Hillman, "Rethinking China's Tibet Policy," Japan Focus