LHASA — Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region saw robust growth in retail sales of consumer goods in the first two months of 2021, according to local authorities.

The total retail sales reached 11.98 billion yuan (about $1.8 billion) in the period, up 29.3 percent year-on-year, data from the regional commerce department showed.

Thanks to the region's pro-consumption policies, the retail sales of rural consumer goods surged 64.2 percent year-on-year to 1.98 billion yuan. Sales of automobiles soared 73.3 percent to 1.02 billion yuan.

During the Tibetan New Year, which coincided with the Spring Festival this year, more people stayed put in Tibet than in previous years to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

During the first seven days of the Tibetan New Year, more than 200 tracked companies in the region saw retail sales edge up 9.95 percent year-on-year to 515 million yuan, the commerce department added.