Tibet sees rise in tourist arrivals in first 8 months
Xinhua | Updated: 2021-10-01 19:00
LHASA -- Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region received 33.27 million domestic and overseas tourists in the first eight months of this year, up 20.8 percent year on year, local authorities said Thursday.
The region's tourism revenue surged 35.7 percent from a year earlier to 41.49 billion yuan (about $6.4 billion) in the same period, according to the regional tourism department.
The growth in both the number of tourists and tourism revenue was partly due to effective epidemic control in China.
Besides, the opening of the Lhasa-Nyingchi railway, Tibet's first electrified railway, has brought convenience to tourists and new opportunities to the region's tourism development.
The railway officially began operation on June 25. Compared with road transportation, it reduces the travel time from Lhasa to Nyingchi from 5 hours to about 3.5 hours.
Tibet has set a target of receiving 42 million tourists and generating annual tourism revenue of 44 billion yuan in 2021.