BEIJING - Over 1.3 billion passenger trips were handled by China's transportation sectors during the just-concluded Labor Day holiday, up 2.1 percent from a year ago, official statistics showed on Monday.

Of the total, highway traffic amounted to nearly 1.25 billion passenger trips, up 2.1 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Railway trips rose 1.4 percent to 91.76 million while air trips surged 8.1 percent to 9.97 million, and passenger trips by water increased by 6 percent to nearly 6.96 million.

This year's Labor Day holiday ran from May 1 to May 5. 

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Data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism showed China saw about 295 million domestic tourist trips during the five-day holiday, up 7.6 percent year-on-year and 28.2 percent from the same period in 2019.

Domestic tourist expenditure during the period totaled 166.89 billion yuan (about $23.51 billion), up 13.5 percent from the same period in 2019.

Culture and tourism were deeply intertwined during the holiday, with popular destinations such as the Palace Museum, Sanxingdui Museum, and Yinxu Museum attracting a large number of visitors.

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The nighttime economy was also thriving, with monitored national-level nighttime cultural and tourism destinations recording nearly 72.58 million visitors, an increase of 6.9 percent year-on-year.

Also on Monday, the National Immigration Administration said border inspection agencies across China handled nearly 8.47 million entry and exit trips during the Labor Day holiday, a 35.1 percent increase from the same period last year

With the resumption of more air routes, the introduction of measures for facilitating passengers' entry, and the increase in the number of countries with visa exemption agreements, inbound and outbound tourism has been recovering rapidly, according to the ministry.

China saw nearly 1.78 million inbound tourist trips and 1.9 million outbound tourist trips made during the holiday.

Also on Monday, the National Immigration Administration said border inspection agencies across China handled nearly 8.47 million entry and exit trips during the holiday, a 35.1 percent increase from the same period last year.

The daily number of entry and exit trips peaked on May 3, with more than 1.8 million trips recorded, said the administration.

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Of all the trips, mainland travelers accounted for about 4.77 million of them. Travelers from Hong Kong, Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan region made up 2.92 million trips, while travelers from abroad accounted for 779,000 trips.

All three figures saw substantial increases from a year ago, growing by 38 percent, 20.8 percent, and 98.7 percent, respectively, the administration noted.