BEIJING -- China saw a travel boom during the May Day holiday as demand for family visits, tourism and spring outings surged, official data showed Tuesday.

Over the five-day holiday running from May 1 to 5, nearly 1.47 billion cross-regional trips were made nationwide, a year-on-year rise of 7.9 percent, the Ministry of Transport said.

The railway sector handled 101.7 million passenger trips during the holiday period, marking a 10.8 percent year-on-year growth. Civil aviation also saw strong performance, handling a total of 11.15 million trips, representing an 11.8-percent increase from the previous year.

Waterway transport demonstrated the most substantial growth at 23.8 percent with 8.61 million passenger trips made, while road travel dominated the holiday transportation landscape with 1.34 billion trips, or a 7.6-percent increase year on year.

The May Day holiday is typically one of the busiest travel periods of the year. During this time, the travel boom also boosts revenues in tourism and retail sectors.