BEIJING, June 11 -- People across China celebrated big during the just-concluded Dragon Boat Festival holiday, with a notable surge recorded in holiday travel, according to official figures.

During the three-day festival concluding on Monday, about 637.62 million passenger trips were handled by China's transportation sectors, up 9.4 percent from the same period of last year, data from the Ministry of Transport showed Tuesday.

Highway traffic comprised the majority, with approximately 583.11 million passenger trips, reflecting a 9.5 percent year-on-year increase, data shows.

Railway trips rose 5.1 percent to 46.05 million and air trips surged 7.9 percent to 5.53 million, while passenger trips by water increased by 4.4 percent to nearly 2.93 million.

Previous data indicates that domestic tourists have a stronger willingness to spend, as they spent 40.35 billion yuan (about 5.67 billion U.S. dollars) during the holiday, an 8.1 percent increase compared to last year, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.