In a bid to spark the local tourism, retail and related sectors, residents of three Guangdong cities may apply to visit Hong Kong in their individual capacity from July 28 under a pilot scheme.

Residents of Dongguan, Zhongshan and Jiangmen will be able to apply for an "individual visit" endorsement from the Mainland public security bureau offices to visit Hong Kong. At present, Mainland residents visiting Hong Kong for sightseeing purpose can only come as members of group tours.

If the scheme is deemed a success, there are plans to extend it to the whole of Guangdong province no later than July 2004.

The endorsement will be valid for three months and good for one or two visits to Hong Kong. The holder will be allowed to stay in Hong Kong for seven days on each visit. Eligible applicants will be able to apply for a new endorsement once the current one has expired or has been used up. There is no quota on the number of endorsements to be issued, either.

The Immigration Department will boost staffing levels to cope with the anticipated increase in the number of visitors.

Last year, about 1.2 million Mainland group tour visitors came to Hong Kong for sightseeing.