(Yicai) May 13 -- Eight Chinese cities including Harbin in northeastern Heilongjiang province will soon be authorized to issue entry and exit permits for individuals traveling to and from Hong Kong and Macao, as travel between these metropolises and the special administrative regions surges.

Residents in Harbin, Taiyuan in northern Shanxi province, Hohhot in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Lhasa in the Xizang Autonomous Region, Lanzhou in northwestern Gansu province, Xining in western Qinghai province, Yinchuan in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Urumqi in northwestern Xinjiang province can apply for an Exit-Entry Permit to Hong Kong and Macao at their local public security bureau from May 27, the National Immigration Administration said on May 11. They can also apply to be part of a tour group to these regions.

The permit for individual visits, also known as the G endorsement, is valid for either three months or one year, and allows for single or double journeys to Hong Kong and just single journeys to Macao, with a maximum stay of seven days per visit.

Travel between these eight cities and Hong Kong and Macao has surged more than 80 percent this year from a year ago, and that from Yinchuan, Xining and Urumqi has more than doubled, said Wang Yalei, an industry analyst at online travel agency Trip.com’s research institute. More people are expected to visit Hong Kong and Macao during the Dragon Boat Festival next month and over the summer.

Searches for travel to and hotel bookings in Hong Kong and Macao on Trip.com by residents in these cities jumped more than 30 percent in the hour after the announcement was made from the same time the previous day, the Shanghai-based platform said.

The move will bring the number of cities allowed to issue the G endorsement to 59. This right was first granted to four cities in Guangdong province in 2003 and had expanded to 49 municipalities including Beijing and Shanghai by 2007. Xi’an in central Shaanxi province and Qingdao in eastern Shandong province were added in March.

Editor: Kim Taylor