BEIJING, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- During the eight-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday which ended on Wednesday, cross-regional passenger trips reached approximately 2.43 billion nationwide, the Ministry of Transport announced Thursday.

From Oct. 1 to 8, a daily average of 304 million cross-regional passenger trips were made, rising 6.3 percent year-on-year and hitting a record high.

Demand for travel options such as small-group tours, self-driving trips and family-friendly trips stayed robust, underscoring the holiday travel boom.

China's railways handled 153.96 million passenger trips, with a daily average of 19.24 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 2.6 percent, according to the ministry.

Waterway and civil aviation passenger volume totaled 11.66 million and 19.14 million, respectively. Road passenger volume hit 2.25 billion, with a daily average of 281.05 million trips, marking a year-on-year increase of 6.6 percent.