A couple poses for wedding photos on the square of the Potala Palace during the National Day holiday in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Oct. 6, 2019. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)

Tibet will continue to develop the tourism industry in 2020, with an aim to attract over 47 million tourists and increase the tourism revenue to over 60 billion yuan.

LHASA, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- More than 40 million tourists from home and abroad visited southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region in 2019, up 19 percent year on year, according to local authorities.

Last year, tourism revenue rose to 56 billion yuan (7.9 billion U.S. dollars), Qizhala, chairman of the regional government, said in his government work report delivered Tuesday at the third session of the 11th People's Congress of Tibet Autonomous Region.

Tibet will continue to develop the tourism industry in 2020, with an aim to attract over 47 million tourists and increase the tourism revenue to over 60 billion yuan, Qizhala said.

"We will build Tibet into an important destination for global tourism and promote our tourism brand of the world's Third Pole," he said. ■