GUANGZHOU: Huang Weimei had been holding off a trip to Hong Kong for years because he had heard prices of goods were higher there than on the mainland.

Thanks to the appreciation of the renminbi, however, Huang''s hesitation has evaporated.

"Although prices there are still higher, I can use less money to shop in Hong Kong," Huang said after booking a trip there for Christmas.

Thanks to the rising value of the renminbi, more tourists in South China''s Guangdong Province, like Huang, are planning visits to neighbouring Hong Kong.

The value of the Chinese currency against the HK dollar continued to rise yesterday. The central parity rate was 1.00823 yuan to 1 HK dollar, according to the People''s Bank of China, the central bank.

Moreover, the buying price for HK dollars hit a new low at 99.72 yuan for 100 HK dollars yesterday, according to Bank of China.

"If the value of the yuan continues to rise, we expect two or three times the number of tourists to visit Hong Kong at the end of this year compared to last," said Lu Yujing, a spokesman at the Guangzhou International Travel Service Ltd.

Hong Kong has traditionally been a hot destination for Chinese tourists during the Christmas period. According to Lu, the price of trips to Hong Kong will be adjusted "moderately" in the coming days.

"The price of tours to Hong Kong will see a moderate reduction by about 2 per cent," said Lu.

Tour packages from Guangdong to Hong Kong currently range from between 100 yuan (US$12.7) to 2,000 yuan (US$253), Lu said.

According to Lu, ticket prices to Disneyland and Ocean Park, two of Hong Kong''s most popular sites, will decrease by about 20 yuan (US$2.5) in December.

"The direct benefits for domestic tourists to Hong Kong is that they can use mainland''s UnionPay cards for shopping there," Lu said.

Despite reduced ticket prices, hotels in Hong Kong may not reduce rates, Lu said. -China Daily