Tibet reported a 6-percent increase in tourism revenue and at least a 4-percent rise in tourist arrivals during the 10-day Tibetan new year holiday, the regional tourism authority said Wednesday.

Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China received 115,487 tourists from Feb. 13 to 22, up 4.3 percent from the same period of last year, the regional tourism administration said in a press release.

The holiday travel rush yielded 79.8 million yuan (US$11.7 million) of tourism income over the 10 days, up 6 percent year-on-year, it said.

More than 2,000 tourists joined a Himalayan folk culture festival to celebrate the Tibetan Year of Iron Tiger and the Chinese New Year, which happened to fall on the same date on Feb. 14. Among them were 421 international tourists from 23 countries and regions.

Gao Wei, an office worker from Chengdu in southwestern Sichuan Province, said she joined a group of about 20 tourists she met online to celebrate the new year in Tibet.

"Someone put up an Internet posting asking if anyone was interested to travel together, and we answered the call," said Gao. "It was a pleasant trip: there were not many tourists in winter and everything was cheaper, from hotel rates to tickets at major tourist attractions."

In an effort to boost tourism in the winter season, the region has cut hotel rates and ticket prices from Nov. 1 to March 31.

(Xinhua News Agency February 24, 2010)