A New Year-themed imported products fair featuring various imported goods is held between Jan 23 and Feb 4 in Lhasa, the capital of the Xizang autonomous region. [Photo by Palden Nyima/chinadaily.com.cn]
The Xizang autonomous region received more than 2.38 million tourist visits during the recent Spring Festival holiday, an increase of 16.56 percent year-on-year, according to the region's culture and tourism department.
It said that tourism-related expenditures during the eight-day Spring Festival holiday, which ended on Tuesday, reached 1.94 billion yuan ($266 million), up 13.68 percent year-on-year.
Increased attention has turned toward Xizang following its inclusion as one of four sub-venues for this year's Spring Festival Gala. Online searches for Lhasa, the region's capital, saw a month-on-month growth of over 100 percent at the peak time, Xizang Daily reported.
A New Year-themed imported products fair featuring various imported goods is held between Jan 23 and Feb 4 in Lhasa, the capital of the Xizang autonomous region. [Photo by Palden Nyima/chinadaily.com.cn]A New Year-themed imported products fair featuring various imported goods was held between Jan 23 and Feb 4 in Lhasa, the capital of the Xizang autonomous region. [Photo by Palden Nyima/chinadaily.com.cn]
The Potala Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site, received more than 29,500 visitors during the holiday, a 69 percent increase compared to the previous year, said the department.
According to the latest statistics from Trip.com Group, a major domestic online travel agency, holiday visitors to Xizang were mainly from major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou. Popular attractions included Namtso Lake, the Nego Glacier, the Potala Palace, Yardrok Yutso Lake and Draksum Tso Lake.
A New Year-themed imported products fair featuring various imported goods is held between Jan 23 and Feb 4 in Lhasa, the capital of the Xizang autonomous region. [Photo by Palden Nyima/chinadaily.com.cn]
Meanwhile, official statistics from the region's commerce department show that the 35 key commercial enterprises collectively achieved sales of more than 38 million yuan during the period, a year-on-year increase of 7.79 percent, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Behind the bustling consumer scenes, strong support from passenger flow and logistics is indispensable. During the holiday, Xizang's civil aviation passenger transportation volume reached 136,197 person-times, and the cargo and mail throughput reached 304.3 metric tons.
The ancient Barkhor Street in Lhasa, the capital of the Xizang autonomous region, is crowded with tourists and pilgrims during the Spring Festival holiday. [Photo by Palden Nyima/chinadaily.com.cn]
The ancient Barkhor Street in Lhasa, the capital of the Xizang autonomous region, is crowded with tourists and pilgrims during the Spring Festival holiday. [Photo by Palden Nyima/chinadaily.com.cn]
