(Yicai) June 18 -- Residents of China's mainland increased their trips to the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao by more than 60 percent in the first five months of this year from a year ago amid easing access to travel permits.

From January to May, Hong Kong received about 18 million tourists, up 78 percent, and 13.8 million of them were from the mainland, a 73 percent increase, the local culture, sports, and tourism bureau announced recently.

Macao welcomed around 14.2 million tourists in the same period, up 50 percent, and about 9.9 million of them came from the mainland, a 62 percent boost, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the local tourism office, said to local media.

Travel documents are becoming easier to obtain. This year, 10 more mainland cities, including Qingdao and Xi’an, have been given the right to issue SAR travel permits to individuals, bringing the total to 59 cities.

Moreover, travel is becoming even faster as ordinary trains from Beijing and Shanghai to Hong Kong were upgraded to high-speed trains on June 15, cutting the journey from 24 and 19 hours, respectively, to 12 and 11 hours.

Hong Kong and Macao are boosting their efforts to attract more mainland tourists this year, Shi Nengzi, vice chairman of Deloitte China, said to Yicai. For example, they have recently held musical activities to lure fans to travel and spend money, the consultancy chief said.

The number of tourists visiting Hong Kong and Macao is rising, but the trend of tourism spending is not aligned, because tourists tend to be younger and their preferences have changed, Shi said, adding that young travelers prefer economical one-day trips and city walks.

Mainland cities have developed many new forms of tourism in recent years but Hong Kong and Macao are lagging behind so government agencies of the SARs should introduce international and fashionable brands to make consumers more willing to splurge, Shi suggested.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Emmi Laine