Hong Kong flights: 500,000 free airline tickets up for grabs from March in bid to boost tourism

Hong Kong is giving away 500,000 airline tickets in an effort to woo tourists back to the region.

The city has rolled back COVID travel restrictions in recent months including mandatory isolation on arrival.

Now it is hoping to bounce back from the massive impact the pandemic had on its tourism industry. And part of Hong Kong’s plan involves giving away 500,00 airline tickets worth more than €250 million.

Back in October, executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board Dane Cheng told the BBC that the free tickets were initially bought to support airlines during the pandemic. 

On Wednesday (1 February), Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee launched the $2 billion (€1.8 bn) 'Hello Hong Kong' campaign, with the flight ticket giveaway starting on 1 March.

Hong Kong received 56 million visitors in 2019 - over seven times its population - before the pandemic began. But its strict COVID restrictions have kept visitors away over the past three years, devastating the tourism sector and its economy. The city’s GDP last year fell 3.5 per cent from 2021, according to the government’s provisional data.

The giveaway will start on March 1 and last for about six months, with tickets distributed in phases. 

The free tickets will be distributed by Hong Kong-based airlines Cathay Pacific, HK Express and Hong Kong Airlines, according to Fred Lam Tin-fuk, chief executive officer of the Airport Authority Hong Kong.

Tickets will be distributed gradually on the airlines' overseas platforms starting with Southeast Asian countries, followed by mainland China and Northeastern Asia, according to Time Out Hong Kong.

A further 80,000 free air tickets will be given to Hong Kong residents in the summer, with another 80,000 for those living in the Greater Bay