Tourism booming in Tibet during holiday week

LHASA - Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region received about 216,400 tourists from home and abroad from Feb 15 to Feb 18, the first four days of the week-long Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, up 30.7 percent compared to the same period last year, the regional tourism development committee announced on Monday.

Tourism revenue reached 159 million yuan($25 million) during the past four days, a year-on-year increase of 14.7 percent, according to the committee.

This year's Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, coincided with the Tibetan New year, which was fell on last Friday.

Roughly 84,000 visitors stayed overnight in the region and 132,000 visitors have stayed for a one-day tour, the committee said.

Tao Lijuan, a tourist from Shanghai, enjoyed her Spring Festival in Tibet with her family.

"I have tried on the Tibetan traditional clothes and danced with locals," she said, "I also visited the well-known Potala Palace."

A manager of one of the popular chain hostels in Lhasa, surnamed Wang, said that rooms of his hostel have all been booked up for the holiday week.

The regional government has launched a winter tourism promotion program offering free admission to 115 major tourist attractions in the region, including the iconic Potala Palace, from Feb 1 to Apr 30, plus discounted fares for hotels, local transport, flights and railway.