It will depart Buenos Aires and stop in Madrid and Beijing before landing in Shanghai. The first flight will coincide with Argentine President Nestor Kirchner's official visit to the mainland.

It takes between 32 and 36 hours to travel from the mainland to Buenos Aires at present.

Hong Kong tourists usually have to wait for about six hours in San Francisco and Washington before reaching the Argentinian capital.

Mainland tourists either have travel via Los Angeles and Miami or transfer in Paris. The waiting time ranges from six to nine hours.

The Argentinian Consul-General in Hong Kong, Ricardo Forrester, said his country's leaders hoped tour groups from the mainland would soon travel to South America using the new route.

Although Hong Kong travellers will have to take an extra two-hour flight to Shanghai, Mr Forrester said he was confident the new link would widen the market for South American tours in Hong Kong.

'Before the direct flight, Hong Kong tourists lost three days just in travelling,' he said. The possibility of travelling from Shanghai to Argentina means Hong Kong people can save half a day on each journey.'

He said nearly 20 Hong Kong operators had shown an interest in organising tours to Argentina.

Ann Yip Wai-yi, operations manager of Jetour Holiday, said more Hong Kong agencies had realised the market for South American tours was growing. In the past year, these tours have been offered by Jetour and P&O Travel. She said the economic recovery was encouraging more customers to visit South America.

'These South American tours, lasting for about 14 to 18 days cost more than $40,000 per head,' she said. 'Last year, we only had 20 customers for the tour, but for this Lunar New Year season, we have already had more than 100.'

Joseph Tung Yao-chung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council, said: 'The outlook is positive as Hong Kong people are constantly looking for new locations and South America is one of them. Argentina has also just granted us visa-free status.'