Hong Kong is giving away 500,000 free airline tickets. Here's when they'll be available to Europeans

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

The tickets will be released in stages from March and will be available to Europeans from May onwards.

The city has removed its strict travel restrictions in recent months, including mandatory testing and isolation on arrival. It has now announced it will end its mask mandate on 1 March, which has been in place for over 2.5 years - one of the longest of any country. 

Masks will no longer be enforced on public transport, indoors or outdoors, though they may still be required in some high-risk settings. This was the city's last remaining COVID-19 restriction, and was previously enforced with HK$5,000 (€600) fines.

Now Hong Kong is hoping to bounce back from the massive impact the pandemic had on its tourism industry. And part of its 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 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 1 March and last for about six months, with tickets released in phases. 

65 per cent of the free tickets will be distributed