For an increasing number of mainlanders, especially young women and housewives, the place where they must spend Christmas is Hong Kong not for snow but for the sales.

The Hong Kong tourism industry is ready to receive more than 7.6 million mainland visitors during the period until January 3. The city took in nearly 350,000 tourists in a single day on December 25 last year.

The temptation is greater this year, with the renminbi gaining value against the HK dollar, which is pegged to the US dollar, and residents of more mainland cities can get individual travel visas to visit the special administrative region.

Travel expenses have risen to a yearly high, as reported by many mainland travel services, while some charges in Hong Kong have reached a new low in order to attract mainland spenders.

But the primary goal of mainland visitors is to buy goods imported from all over the world for themselves and their families for the coming New Year's Day and Chinese New Year.

"The purpose of my visiting Hong Kong during Christmas is shopping," said Tang Ming, 34, who plans a Hong Kong trip this Christmas. "The top brands' clothes, bags, cosmetics and watches are already normally cheaper than other places, and at Christmas you can get additional discounts."

China Travel Service (HK) Ltd reported that 15 tourist groups are fully booked for Christmas in Hong Kong this year. The company organized 10 groups last year.

At least 470 people in Beijing have so far signed up for Hong Kong Christmas tours, and the number will continue to grow because there are still a few days before Christmas, said Xiao Hong, manager of the Hong Kong and Macao department at China Travel International Ltd (CTI).

Though the price of a Hong Kong tour starting from Beijing is 200 yuan (US$25) higher during Christmas than at other time of the year, the number of travellers this year is 10 per cent higher than last year, Xiao said.

In comparison, only 20 people have signed up for tours leaving Beijing for Europe with CTI during Christmas.

"Hong Kong exceeds European countries during this season as a travel destination, because Chinese do not celebrate Christmas and cannot spare 10 days or more to enjoy the authentic Christmas celebrations in Europe," said Liang Yuan, manager of the marketing department at CTI.

For the same reason, other short-distance tour destinations, such as Singapore and the South Pacific islands, are also more popular than Europe.

Hong Kong is also popular, because of the sharp discounts given at stores. European retailers will not offer big discounts until January.

This year, travellers from Guangzhou are much luckier than those from Beijing or Shanghai, because the price of trips from this southern city to Hong Kong is lower thanks to the rising value of the renminbi against the HK dollar.

The price of package tours and individual trips from Guangdong to Hong Kong has been set at around 295 yuan (US$37.8), according to Lu Yujing, a spokeswoman at the GZL International Travel Service Ltd (CGZL). About 500 tourists have so far booked Christmas trips to Hong Kong with CGZL, she said. "We expect two or three times as many tourists will visit Hong Kong during Christmas compared to last year," Lu said.

Though travellers' attention is not focused on anything else but shopping, the city is making every effort to create a festive atmosphere for visitors.

Hong Kong has been promoting Hong Kong Winter Fest since November 24. An enchanting Santa's Town, an area transforming Hong Kong's busy central business district into a cheery festive winter wonderland, has been launched.

At the same time, the Hong Kong tourism industry has taken a series of measures since November to ensure the standards of its service sector and protect the rights of mainland visitors.