BEIJING - Tourist visits and spending hit record high as millions of Chinese went on a travelling spree during the week-long National Day holiday, latest official data showed.

Altogether 593 million people visited tourist attractions around the country from Oct 1 to Oct 7, up 12.8 percent year on year, according to figures released by China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).

Nationwide tourist spending rose 14.4 percent year on year to 482.2billion yuan ($72.3 billion) during this period, the CNTA said.

Railways carried 108 million passengers during the past ten days, up 9.3 percent year on year while airlines transported 9.96 million passengers in the past week, up 11.6 percent year on year, according to railway and civil aviation authorities.

For domestic trips, tourist attractions in provinces along the Belt and Road Initiative saw surging visits. North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region saw its tourist visits rise by 21.49 percent year on year while tourist spending in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region gained 42 percent year on year.