Passengers operate automatic check-in machines at Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, April 26, 2021.(Photo: Xinhua)

A total of 265 million passenger trips are expected during the upcoming 5-day May Day holidays, one of the hottest since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and may exceed that seen in the same holidays in 2019.

On the first day of the holidays, May 1, some 60 million cars are expected to travel on expressways, a record high, said Sun Wenjian, spokesman for the Ministry of Transport on Thursday during a press briefing.

Based on booking data from travel platforms, about 70 percent of users choose to travel across provinces. Car rental orders increased significantly from 2019, up 126 percent, of which 90 percent are cross-province travel, said Sun.

It is estimated that the average daily traffic of the national expressway network during the holidays will be 52.5 million to 54.5 million vehicles, an increase of 16-20 percent over the same period in 2020, and 2-6 percent over the same period in 2019, according to a report released by the transport ministry on Tuesday.

During this year's May Day holidays, the country's toll roads will continue to be free for small passenger cars with less than 7 seats between May 1 to May 5.

China witnessed 195 million passenger trips during the May Day holidays in 2019, with 72.7 million on railway, per official data.

According to statistics from Trip.com Group in mid-April, the number of hotel bookings increased 43 percent compared with 2019, with scenery spot ticket booking up 114 percent.