The Hong Kong government is offering 500,000 free airline tickets to visitors as part of efforts to revive its tourism industry and attract visitors.
The city’s leader, John Lee, unveiled the ticket giveaway during the launch of the “Hello Hong Kong” tourism campaign, a splashy event featuring dancers dressed as aircrew members and chefs. “This, ladies and gentlemen, is probably the world’s biggest welcome ever,” Lee said onstage. The 500,000 tickets cost the city about $254.8 million in total.
Hong Kong was a global tourism hub before political protests and the pandemic. The city attracted 65.1 million in 2018 but that number dropped to less than 100,000 in 2021, as the city enforced severe pandemic measures like mass quarantine camps. The number rebounded to more than 600,000 in 2022.
How can I get airline tickets?
Fred Lam, chief executive officer of Hong Kong’s Airport Authority, said that there will be various ways of winning the tickets, including a lottery system and two-for-one purchases.
Travelers keen to travel to Hong Kong can visit the World of Winners starting March 1 to enter their names into the flight ticket lottery.
The tickets will be allocated in three waves:
- From March 1 to people across Southeast Asia.
- From April 1 to people living in mainland China.
- From May 1 to residents in the rest of the world.
The tickets will be given out through three Hong Kong carriers — Cathay Pacific, HK Express and Hong Kong Airlines. Cathay Pacific has launched the initial phase of its world of winners campaign online.
How tickets will be allocated?
The ticket giveaway will be phased, starting with Southeast Asian markets, followed by mainland China and North Asia, and lastly, other parts of the world.
Some 80,000 tickets have been reserved for Hong Kong residents planned to be given out in the summer.
Vouchers
Hong Kong is also offering various special offers, cash vouchers, and other incentives to travelers. The Hong Kong Tourism Board started giving away at least 1 million spending vouchers worth HK$100 each under the “Hong Kong Goodies” campaign to welcome back visitors.
Are there any travel restrictions?
Hong Kong is opening all borders between Mainland China from February 6, 2023, with no quarantine, no isolation, and no vaccination requirements. A mask mandate in all public places, including outdoors, is still in place. More details on the travel requirements are available on the official website.