THE passenger volume handled by China’s commercial transport network during the May Day holiday could hit over 270 million trips, or a daily average of 54.04 million, up 162.9% from a year ago, the Ministry of Transport projected Wednesday.

During the five-day holiday ending Wednesday, the first such holiday since China optimized its COVID-19 response measures, the country’s railways are expected to see a daily average of 18.18 million passenger trips, up 464.4% from the 2022 May Day holiday, said the ministry.

The daily average passenger flow by air is likely to reach 1.88 million trips, 507.4% higher than the same period last year, while the figures for highways and waterways are expected to jump by 99.1% and 114.2%, respectively, it said.

Expressway traffic flow during the holiday is expected to grow by 101.83% to nearly 62.1 million trips per day, according to the ministry.

It is estimated that the domestic tourist trips during the holiday surged by 70.83% year-on-year to reach 274 million, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) said.

Tourism revenue reached 148.06 billion yuan (US$21.4 billion), up 128.9% from last year, according to the MCT.

Approximately 47,500 public cultural and entertainment events were held across the country, with around 166 million people participating in, said the MCT. (Xinhua)