LHASA, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region experienced surges in both tourism and consumption during the eight-day Spring Festival holiday, which started Jan. 28.

During the period, Xizang received about 2.38 million tourists and logged total tourism spending of nearly 1.95 billion yuan (about 272 million U.S. dollars), marking increases of 16.56 percent and 13.68 percent, respectively, according to the regional department of culture and tourism.

The Potala Palace scenic area in Lhasa received nearly 30,000 visitors during the holiday, a year-on-year increase of 69 percent, according to statistics released by Chinese online travel service giant Trip.com Group. The main sources of tourists to Xizang were Shanghai, Chengdu, Beijing and Guangzhou.

In 2024, Xizang received nearly 63.9 million tourists from home and abroad, up 15.81 percent. Their total expenditure reached 74.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.5 percent. ■