Hong Kong, Giving Away Half a Million Flights

Hong Kong is going all out to woo travellers back, giving away half a million plane tickets to visitors from around the world.

The ‘Hello Hong Kong’ campaign is being rolled out to help revive the Special Administrative Region’s struggling tourism and aviation industries after nearly three years of stringent COVID regulations.

Prior to the pandemic, Hong Kong saw 56 million visitors in an average year, the majority coming from mainland China. But even with the COVID restrictions and mandatory quarantine finally dropped, the reopening has been slow.

This new promotion aims to turn that around and help boost business again.

Starting next month, 325-thousand free economy class tickets will begin to be distributed through three airlines: Cathay Pacific, HK Express, and Hong Kong Airlines.

Each carrier will have their own methods for the giveaways. They could be won through a draw or a game, others may go with first come first served or the ‘Buy one, get one free’ routes.

The remaining 175-thousand tickets will be given away through different promotions by various tourism-related sectors.

The free tickets will be doled out in different markets in separate phases, beginning in March with travellers from Southeast Asia.

Then in April, they’ll give away tickets to visitors from Mainland China. In May, they will open it to other international markets, including Canada. Outbound tickets will become available in July.