URUMQI, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region saw more than 105 million tourists in the first eight months of this year, up 40.93 percent year-on-year, according to regional statistics.

Tourists have spent more than 171 billion yuan (around 25.1 billion U.S. dollars) in the region during the period, up 43.18 percent from last year.

Xinjiang has increasingly become a favorite travel destination for both domestic and overseas tourists, said Hou Hanmin, an official with Xinjiang's regional tourism development commission.

Emerging tourist attractions in the region and a more developed traffic network are the primary reasons for the strong growth, according to the commission.

Xinjiang saw an increase of 32.4 percent in the number of tourists in 2017, receiving a total of 107 million. Tourists spent over 182 billion yuan in the region, 30 percent more than in 2016.