Hong Kong needs be aware of how the city might appear to tourists, a lawmaker warned on Saturday, after two more mainland cities were added to a travel arrangement to allow visits to the SAR on an individual basis.

From March 6, Qingdao and Xi'an will be added to the Individual Visit Scheme, allowing residents to apply for permission to arrange their own trips to the SAR and stay in the territory for up to seven days at a time.

Bill Tang, a legislator from the Federation of Trade Unions, told a Commercial Radio programme that the city has to make sure businesses don't pressure mainland tourists into purchasing goods.

"Now that we have expanded our source of visitors, we need to be alert of the feelings and concepts they bring back home about Hong Kong... Bad news really travel fast," he said.

Meanwhile, speaking after the same programme, DAB lawmaker Holden Chow said he believed Hong Kong had the capacity to welcome more mainland visitors.

"The central government has always struck a balance between boosting our tourism, boosting our economy, and at the same time they will be very cautious in looking after the capacity of Hong Kong. I believe that the central government has indeed struck a balance on these two factors," he said.