by Hong Kong will give away air tickets and coupons to lure tourists to the international financial hub, vying to catch up with other popular tourist destinations in fierce regional competition.
During the pandemic, the city largely aligned with mainland China’s “zero-Covid” strategy and has relaxed its entry rules months later than rivals such as Singapore, Japan and Taiwan. Even after it reopened its border with mainland China in January, the recovery in tourism was slow.
On Wednesday, Chief Executive John Lee launched a “Hello Hong Kong” tourism campaign, saying the city will offer 500,000 free air tickets to welcome tourists from around the world in what he called “probably the biggest welcome in the world.”
“Hong Kong is now seamlessly connected to mainland China and the entire international world and there will be no isolation or quarantine,” he said at a ceremony. “This is the perfect time for tourists, business travelers and investors from near and far to come and say ‘Hello Hong Kong’.”
Under the campaign, the majority of air tickets, valued at HK$2 billion (£207 million), will come from three Hong Kong-based airlines through various promotional activities, including sweepstakes, “buy one, get one free” promotions and games. The project will begin in March and will last about six months, said Fred Lam, director general of the Airport Authority.
“We hope that those who secure the air tickets can bring two or three more family and friends to the city. Although we are only giving away 500,000 air tickets, we believe this can help attract more than 1.5 million visitors to Hong Kong,” Lam said.
The airlines will distribute the tickets in phases, with Southeast Asian markets benefiting in the first stage, he said.
An additional 80,000 air tickets will be given away to Hong Kong residents in the summer, Lam said. Those who live in the Greater Bay Area will also benefit from the policy that offers more than 700,000 total tickets.
The Greater Bay Area is a Chinese government initiative to link Hong Kong with neighboring mainland cities, including the technology and financial hub of Shenzhen and the manufacturing powerhouses of Dongguan and Foshan.
Visitors can also enjoy special offers and vouchers among other incentives in the city, Lee said.
Hong Kong received 56 million visitors in 2019, more than seven times its population, before the pandemic began. But its strict Covid-19 restrictions have kept visitors away for the past three years, devastating the tourism sector and its economy. The city’s GDP last year fell 3.5 percent from 2021, according to provisional government data.
In recent months, it has finally lifted its mandatory hotel quarantine rule and PCR tests for incoming travelers, resulting in a slight increase in arrival numbers. Still, its visitor numbers in 2022 were just 1 percent of the 2019 level.
