Activists unfurl the banner at the Everest base camp in Tibet on April 25. (Reuters)

Beijing, May 14: China has tightened restrictions on travel by foreigners in the Himalayan region of Tibet after five Americans unfurled a banner at the foot of Mount Everest to protest against the staging of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

The new rules came into effect after the week-long May Day holiday, an official with the state-run China Travel Service said in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital. “We can’t let foreign tourists just go anywhere by themselves,” she said. “In the past they could be left alone to travel independently as they wanted for a few days. Now this is not allowed any more.”

Foreigners are also no longer allowed to apply for a permit to enter the region from the office of the Tibetan travel bureau in the southwestern city of Chengdu, from where there are direct flights to Lhasa. All travel must be approved by the head office in Lhasa, which operates under police supervision. The official said: “Management is tighter because of the Americans on Everest.”

The five Americans were detained last month at the Chinese base camp for Everest after they staged a protest against plans to carry the Olympic torch to the summit of the world’s highest mountain en route to the opening of the Games in Beijing on August 8. They unfurled a banner reading: “One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 2008” — a play on the official slogan of the Games: “One World, One Dream”.