Tourists play on snow tubes at Oynak ski resort in Moyu County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Jan. 9, 2022. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

URUMQI, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- More than 190 million tourists traveled to northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2021, an increase of 20.5 percent compared to 2020, according to a work report of the regional government.

The report was released at the fifth session of the 13th regional people's congress which opened on Sunday.

The region reported a total tourism revenue of nearly 141.6 billion yuan (about 22.4 billion U.S. dollars) last year, up 42.7 percent, according to the work report.

The regional government has vowed to build Xinjiang into a key area for tourism and a popular destination worldwide. Tourism has become a major source of income for local people in the region.