Sales continued to improve in August with the decline in value narrowing to 0.2 per cent from last year to HK$22.7 billion - after dropping 5.3 per cent in July and 4.7 per cent in June.

Zhu Peiyu, a doctor, and her fiance, sister and mother are four of 120 mainlanders who joined Sun Hung Kai Properties' shopping tour yesterday.

'I mainly come to shop for necklaces and bracelets to prepare for my wedding in January,' said Zhu, who arrived before noon from Shenzhen at the apm shopping centre in Kwun Tong, SHKP's flagship complex. In less than an hour, the family spent HK$50,000 at Chow Tai Fook Jewellery.

'Designs in Hong Kong are more stylish,' she said, while swiping the debit card to pay for 10 pieces of jewellery, which included gold bracelets, rings and necklaces.

But it was just the beginning of her family's shopping trip as they proceeded to buy mobile telephones and beauty products after enjoying a free lunch at a Chiu Chow restaurant.

'Whenever we visit Hong Kong, we will only shop at Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui,' Zhu said. 'When we learned of this free Shenzhen-Hong Kong transport shopping tour, we immediately signed up, as it will save time in travelling.'

Wan Kin-wa, an assistant manager at Chow Tai Fook, said the firm's target was to raise sales by at least 20 per cent during the holiday period.

'Mainlanders account for about 30 per cent of our customers in this branch,' Wan said.

Other members of the group shopped for Japanese brand milk powder, health food and electrical items.

By 5pm, apm said 120 mainland shoppers had spent a total of HK$630,000 at the shopping centre with average spending of HK$5,300 per visitor.

Maureen Fung Sau-yim, the general manager for leasing at Sun Hung Kai Real Estate, said the firm had set aside HK$600,000 worth of gifts to give away to mainlanders.

A night's accommodation in the deluxe suite of the Royal Garden in Tsim Sha Tsui, theme park entrance tickets and HK$500 cash shopping coupons were among lucky draw prizes for spending HK$5,000 or more at apm.

'We aim to extend their stay in Hong Kong so they spend more,' she said.

Fung added that 15 groups with a total of 500 mainland shoppers had been organised.

The firm hoped to bring in HK$68 million in sales, 15 per cent more than a year ago.

SHKP's other shopping centres also arranged mainland tours to visit its different retail properties. Fifty mainland tourists visited the World Trade Centre in Causeway Bay as part of a '58 yuan luxurious watch shopping tour' yesterday.

'A meal and transport are covered in the tour,' said Emmy Leung Yuen-shan, a senior promotion manager at SHKP. 'We also organised cosmetics, brand-name accessories and fashion shopping tours.

'Some of the tours will take shoppers to East Point City and Landmark North. Each mainland shopper is expected to spend an average of HK$5,000.'

Vivian Leung Wai-ming, a general manager of Eagle Property Management, which manages Langham Place in Mong Kok, said about 400,000 people visited the shopping centre yesterday - 30 per cent more than last year.

About 100 shoppers started queuing up as early as 7am at various outlets in the shopping centre, which introduced a HK$1 deal for diamond earrings, cosmetic products and accessories, Leung said.

Sino Group said sales at four shopping centres rose 12 per cent from a year ago to HK$10.02 million yesterday.

Separately, a reduction in package tour prices for mainlanders travelling to Hong Kong has led to a small increase in visitors.

Package tour prices fell 5 to 10 per cent to an average of HK$1,200 for a four-day tour, which included three nights in a hotel, transport between Guangdong and Hong Kong, a ticket to Ocean Park and a one-way ferry ticket to Macau.

Tour prices were lower than last year because hotel room rates had fallen because of the swine flu threat, said Simon Hau Sui-kei, the chairman of the Hong Kong Inbound Tour Operations Association. 'The number of tourists joining package tours only jumped 5 per cent, compared with last year, despite the fall in package tour prices,' he said.