The news follows the decision of the National Tourism Administration to permit the resumption from tomorrow of tours from Guangdong to Hong Kong and Macau. Mr Tung said Guangdong Governor Huang Huahua had pledged to facilitate individual travel to Hong Kong.

'I expect it will be implemented in stages starting from July,'' the chief executive said. 'We will ensure that the sudden influx of mainland tourists will not threaten the safety and health of Hong Kong people.'

In his policy address in January, Mr Tung said the central government had agreed to allow residents of Guangdong - which has a population of 73 million - to visit Hong Kong on an individual basis. But no date was set.

At present, all tourists from the mainland must join tour groups to Hong Kong.

Howard Young, the legislator representing the travel sector, estimated at least 100,000 more tourists from Guangdong would visit Hong Kong after the restrictions are lifted.

The managing director of China Travel International Investment, Shen Zhuying, estimated that between 120,000 and 180,000 tourists from Guangdong would visit Hong Kong next month, a 20 per cent increase over last year.

About 6.8 million mainland residents visited Hong Kong last year, each spending an average of $5,100.

Guangdong travellers account for about 35 per cent of mainland visitors.

Mr Young said the Guangdong tourists who will be allowed to travel to Hong Kong on an individual basis must have steady jobs, relatively high incomes and good immigration records.

The National Tourism Administration decided to allow the resumption of tours from Guangdong to Hong Kong and Macau after the World Health Organisation lifted its travel advisory against Hong Kong last Friday.

However, tour groups from other mainland cities and provinces are still not allowed to travel to the two special administrative regions.

The central government suspended almost all travel activities, including Hong Kong tours, since April 26 at the height of the Sars outbreak on the mainland.

Travel agents in Guangdong said several thousand residents had signed up for tours to Hong Kong when it was announced that travel restrictions would be lifted.

Shi Dongxiong, deputy general manager of Guangdong China Travel Services Group, said nearly 5,000 travellers had signed up for tours to Hong Kong through his company by the end of April, but they had to call off their trips because of the restrictions on outbound tours.

Meanwhile, yesterday saw the first appearance of the government advertisements relaunching Hong Kong in newspapers throughout Europe, Asia and Australia.

Editorial - A10