Mainland authorities on Friday announced that residents of Qingdao and Xi'an will be able to visit Hong Kong under a travel arrangement limited to around 50 mainland cities.

From March 6, Qingdao and Xi'an will be added to the Individual Visit Scheme, allowing residents with permanent household registration in either of the two cities to apply for permission to arrange their own trips to the SAR.

Such tourists will be able to stay in Hong Kong for up to seven days at a time.

"The State Council recently approved the addition of Shaanxi’s Xi'an and Shandong’s Qingdao to the individual travelling scheme," the National Immigration Administration said in an online notice.

Forty-nine cities are currently covered by the scheme, including Beijing, Shanghai, and all 21 cities in Guangdong province.

SAR officials said earlier that they were in talks with mainland authorities on ways to attract more visitors to Hong Kong.

Chief Executive John Lee said the travel scheme expansion demonstrates Beijing's care and support for Hong Kong.

"The announcement of this new individual visitor scheme cities is a reflection of the central government taking the views and the proposals of the Hong Kong SAR government seriously," he said.

"I would envisage that this smooth process and the good communication between the Hong Kong SAR government and the Central People's Government will continue to see results that will actually bring overall benefits to Hong Kong in the long run."

The CE added that people from Qingdao and Xi'an have high purchasing power, and their visits to Hong Kong will benefit the hotel, tourism and catering sectors.