LHASA - More than 23 million tourists visited southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region in 2016, up 15 percent year on year, according to the regional tourism development commission Tuesday.

The commission said key festivals had provided a major boost for tourism in the region, highlighting Tibetan New Year, the annual Shoton (Yogurt) Festival, and the Tibet Tourism and Culture Expo, which all attracted tourists last year.

So far, about 320,000 people in Tibet work in tourism, 97,000 being farmers and herdsmen.

The regional government aims to receive over 30 million tourists in 2020, with an annual tourism revenue of over 55 billion yuan (7.9 billion U.S. dollars).