Hong Kong and Macao tour searches tripled after the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council announced that the country will optimize its regulations on travel between the mainland and Hong Kong as well as Macao on Jan 8, domestic major online travel agency Trip.com Group reports.

The agencies' group tours to Hong Kong and Macao – of which there were approximately 100 available - saw searches soar to 180 percent.

"Mainland tourists have always been an important part of the source market of Hong Kong and Macao," says Jiang Wen, CEO of the agency's group tour operations.

Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong. [Photo provided to China Daily]

With the resumption of group tours to Hong Kong and Macao, tourists will come in droves to Hong Kong and Macao, Jiang adds.

Zeng Guojun, a professor at the school of tourism of Sun Yat-sen University, says that once the group tours to Hong Kong and Macao resume, it will directly promote the number of mainland visitors to rebound, which in turn will drive the recovery of hotel stays, catering, shopping, entertainment and other industries in Hong Kong and Macao.

The Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office quoted a document released by the State Council joint COVID-19 prevention and control mechanism team, which said that travelers from Hong Kong will need a negative result from a COVID-19 nucleic acid test taken up to 48 hours prior to their trip. They will not need to take a second nucleic acid test after arrival.

Mainland residents' application for tourist and business travel permits for Hong Kong and Macao will be resumed.

Passenger services at land and port borders will be resumed gradually, and tourism between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao will be restored in an orderly manner, the document said.