Feb. 21, 2019 -- A total of 511.7 thousand tourists visited southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region during the 2019 Double New Year Holiday, up 11.6 percent over the same period last year, according to the tourism development department of TAR. The visitors brought 353 million yuan RMB in tourism revenue, a year-on-year increase of 17.72 percent. About 177 thousand overnight visitors and 334.7 thousand travelers on one-day tours visited Tibet throughout the holiday, a year-on-year increase of 8.75 percent and 13.17 percent respectively.

Tibetan New Year, or "Losar", coincided with the Spring Festival this year, which fell on Feb 5, 2019. Residents in Lhasa enjoyed a 10-day-long holiday to celebrate the two festivals. During this period, travelers visiting Tibet could experience traditional Tibetan festive customs such as Tibetan Opera performance and “Guozhuang” (a traditional Tibetan group dance).

Traveling to Tibet during holidays has become a trend. "The traditional Tibetan New Year – Losar and the Spring Festival happen to fall on the same day this year. We feel so happy that we have chance to experience the unique new year festival in Tibet. Best wishes for Tibetans, Tashi Telek," said Li Dan, a visitor from Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province.

Thanks to the "Winter Tour in Tibet" preferential policy, great discounts on hotels, flights and tickets for scenic spots are available to visitors in Tibet from Nov. 1, 2018 to Mar. 15, 2019. The daily rate of five-star hotels falls to less than 600 yuan RMB. As for three-star hotels and boutique hotels, it only cost around 100 yuan RMB each day. Regarding airline tickets, travelers flying to Tibet also enjoy huge discounts. On some ticket booking platforms, a one-way flight ticket from Chengdu, Xi'an or other cities to Lhasa costs less than 300 yuan RMB, the cheapest in a whole year.

Located in the southeast of China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Nyingchi City is known as “the Jiangnan of Tibet" for its picturesque scenery in different seasons. "Basum Tso, Lunang forests as well as Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon are must-see attractions in Nyingchi," said visitor Tian Xiaochang, adding that the homestay was not luxury but clean and cheap, in which tourists could enjoy original Tibetan culture and customs.

Wang Songping, head of the tourism development department of TAR, introduced that during the "Winter Tour in Tibet" special offer period, the "high-end tour in Tibet" program had been launched. "It means Tibet's tourism has entered a tailor-made era. It is also a good practice for promoting featured tourism brands, improving high-end tourism services, uplifting competitive scenic spots as well as developing the all-for-one tourism."