LHASA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Tibet has seen dramatic growth in tourism revenue in the first quarter this year.

From January to March, Tibet welcomed 1.06 million tourists, up 49.5 percent from a year ago. Total tourism revenue also rose 47 percent to 1.26 billion yuan (198 million U.S. dollars), according to the regional Tourism Development Commission Sunday.

Tourism had been slack in winter in Tibet due to frigid weather on the highland. In January this year, the regional government published a series of preferential policies including hotel and ticket discounts, and charter flight and train services to lure domestic and overseas tourists.

Tickets to the Potala Palace, Tibet's most famous attraction, were hard to get in March, and the Basum Lake scenic area, another major tourist attraction, tourist arrivals grow by a factor of six in the first quarter.

The local government has decided to continue some of the winter tourism incentives until June to attracts more tourists.