China's tourism rebounded to pre-COVID 19 levels in the May Day holiday as the number of domestic trips rose by more than two-thirds from a year earlier, government data showed on Wednesday, a welcome boost for the world's second-biggest economy.

If sustained, a recovery in the service sector could ease worries that China's post-pandemic economic recovery could soon lose momentum with the property market still soft, its vast manufacturing sector weak and exports facing persistent headwinds.

Travel-hungry Chinese made 274 million domestic trips during the five-day break that began on Saturday, a rise of 70.8% from a year earlier, and 19% more than during 2019, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said on its website.

During these trips, Chinese tourists spent RMB 148 billion (USD 21 billion), a 128.9% increase from a year earlier, and on a par with 2019 levels.

The figures from this year's May Day holiday - the first travel season since the pandemic without restrictions - are being monitored as a gauge of China's economic health.