Hong Kong to give away 500,000 airline tickets next year as part of global campaign to revive tourism
- Head of Tourism Board says plan is part of global promotion next year once Hong Kong removes all epidemic curbs for arrivals
- Additional HK$100 million to be spent on various sweeteners for inbound travellers
Hong Kong will give away 500,000 airline tickets worth HK$2 billion (US$254 million) as part of an effort early next year to entice travellers to visit the city once authorities remove all coronavirus restrictions for arrivals.
Dane Cheng Ting-yat, executive director of the Tourism Board, on Wednesday said his organisation would be handling the advertising campaign for the scheme, which was expected to launch in early 2023, while the Airport Authority would distribute the tickets.
“Once the government announces it will remove all Covid-19 restrictions for inbound travellers, we’ll roll out the advertising campaigns for the free air tickets,” he said.
“The Airport Authority will finalise the arrangement with airline companies. The free plane tickets are not all for inbound tourists. Some of them will be given to outbound travellers, while some will be distributed via travel agents.”
The Airport Authority set aside HK$2 billion in 2020 to buy about 500,000 tickets from airlines, including Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong Express and Hong Kong Airlines, to promote the city’s tourism industry once the pandemic eased.
