LHASA -- More than 1.18 million tourists visited Southwest China's Lhasa city, capital of Tibet autonomous region, between January and May, the local tourism bureau said on June 24.

Statistics from the bureau showed that the number of visitors represented an increase of 35.9 percent year on year, while tourism revenue reached 1.03 billion yuan (166.7 million U.S. dollars), up 49.4 percent from the same period in 2012.

Many tourists arrived in the city before traveling to other places of the region, while some visitors chose Qamdo or Nyingchi prefectures as their first destination in Tibet.

The bureau said the number will keep rising during summer.

Tibet is expecting 12.6 million tourists and 15.8 billion yuan in tourism revenues this year.

Tourism has become one of the leading economic growth engines for the region. In 2012, tourist numbers hit 10.58 million, while revenue for the sector reached 12.65 billion yuan.