Xizang sees 16.56 pct increase in Spring Festival tourist visits

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.