Hong Kong To Offer 500,000 Free Air Tickets To Win Tourists Back

Free tickets will be distributed next year, as per officials. (Unsplash)

Hong Kong recently said that it plans to give away 500,000 airline tickets to global visitors in order to boost its Covid-hit tourism industry. 

Until recently Hong Kong had some of the world’s toughest quarantine rules as it followed China’s ‘zero-Covid’ policies. However, last month, the city announced that it would no longer require people arriving to go into hotel quarantine or show a negative Covid test before boarding a flight to Hong Kong. 

Now, speaking to CNN, a spokesperson from the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), confirmed plans to give away half a million airline tickets, worth $254.8 million, to global visitors and residents in a bid to boost tourism. 

“Back in 2020, Airport Authority Hong Kong purchased around 500,000 air tickets in advance from the territory’s home-based airlines as part of a relief package to support the aviation industry,” the spokesperson told the outlet. 

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“The purchase serves the purpose of injecting liquidity into the airlines upfront, while the tickets will be given away to global visitors and Hong Kong residents in the market recovery campaign,” he added. 

Further, the spokesperson said that more details will be announced by Hong Kong’s tourism board once the relevant arrangements have been made with the airlines. 

Separately, speaking to BBC, Dang Cheng, executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, said that the free tickets, which were bought during the pandemic, will be distributed next year to inbound and outbound travellers by the city’s airport authority. 

“We hope to give the maximum room to reconnect Hong Kong, and to revitalize our economy,” Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee said in a press conference on Friday.

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However, even though the hotel quarantine has been lifted, visitors to Hong Kong will still have to submit a pre-flight Covid vaccination certificate, a negative PCR test and a rapid antigen test before entering. As per CNN, travellers, after entering the city, will also be required to undergo a three-day self-monitoring period during which time they will be prohibited from eating in restaurants or visiting bars. 

Moreover, visitors are required to complete PCR tests on the second, fourth and sixth day after arrival and a rapid antigen test every day for seven days.