China's tourism industry got a boost during Spring Festival earlier this month despite many people being encouraged to stay put over the holiday, according to a release by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Thursday.

During the seven-day break, Chinese travelers made 256 million trips to domestic destinations — a 75.3 percent recovery of the same period in 2019 when the novel coronavirus epidemic yet to break out.

Tourism-related revenue generated during the holiday was 301.1 billion yuan ($47 billion), recovering 58.6 percent of that in 2019 before the novel coronavirus epidemic.

The ministry said holiday travel was smooth thanks to the government's strict COVID-19 control and prevention measures that helped safeguard the large number of travelers over the break.

Cultural and historical sites such as museums and libraries were popular choices for people who opted to not travel during the holiday. The ministry said public libraries nationwide received about 4.3 million visits over the break.