HONG KONG (Reuters) -China recorded more than 653.7 million inter-regional passenger trips during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, up 2.5% year-on-year, state media reported on Tuesday, with the indicator closely watched as a barometer of Chinese consumer confidence.

Booming demand for inbound and outbound international travel was a significant highlight of this year’s Dragon Boat Festival. Around 2.1 million people are expected to have passed through China’s borders each day, a jump of 12.2 percent from last year’s holiday, according to the National Immigration Administration.