To bring back tourism, 3 airlines are offering 500,000 free air tickets.

Hong Kong has taken a bold new step in efforts to increase tourism following the city’s lockdown in the wake of Covid-19. John Lee, Hong Kong’s chief executive, announced on February 1st that the city planned to give away 500,000 free airline tickets and over one million hospitality vouchers in the coming months to travelers planning to visit Hong Kong. The tickets were purchased in 2020, during “the worst time of the pandemic,” explains Jack So, Hong Kong’s Chairman of Airport Authority. Their purchase was done in the hopes of saving the country’s drowning aviation industry, demonstrating the government’s confidence that Hong Kong could eventually recover pre-pandemic tourism rates. While the tickets were originally available only for those residing in Asia, and have been subsequently awarded, US residents are eligible to apply beginning May 1st. 

Hong Kong had it hard during Covid-19. Before the virus hit, the country received on average 56 million visitors each year; 2022 saw only 100,000. This drop was  caused by the severity of Hong Kong’s pandemic response: strict lockdowns, mandated isolation periods for international travelers, extensive PCR testing, and mass quarantine camps kept tourists away. It was devastating. Hong Kong derives a large portion of its economy from its tourism sector, and the pandemic allowed the country’s neighbors (and competitors) to overtake the city in popularity: both Singapore and Tokyo have maintained stable rankings on Euromonitor’s City Destinations Index following the pandemic, while Hong Kong has fallen to 36th on the list. This 97% decrease in annual visitors worried government officials; would Hong Kong be able to bounce back?

Enter the “Hello Hong Kong” initiative. Ads promoting its free airline tickets and tourism vouchers introduced the programon over 3,000 platforms worldwide, with promotional videos featuring Hong Kong celebrities, business leaders, and social influencers. Since Hong Kong’s first lockdown, the Special Autonomous Region has modernized museum attractions, built a new water park (Water World Ocean Park), updated Hong Kong Disneyland, and repaired the Peak Tram, which allows tourists to explore the entirety of the island. As a part of the tourism vouchers — referred to as“Hong Kong Goodies” — recipients will have access to complimentary food and drinks, retail coupons, and hotel discounts.

Hello Hong Kong’s benefits were first available for residents of Southeast Asia, before expanding to mainland China. Now, the program is arriving in the US. Airline tickets are distributed through a lottery system, which opened on March 1, for those from Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, The Philippines, and Singapore. The tickets are exclusively available on three Hong Kong airlines: Cathay Pacific Airways, Hong Kong Express and Hong Kong Airlines. However, any visitor staying in the country for less than ninety days is eligible to receive these “Hong Kong Goodies” by registering online with the Hong Kong Tourism Board and their mobile phone number. The country also hopes to bolster travel domestically. This summer, Hong Kong plans to distribute over 160,000 free airline tickets to city residents and those living in southern China’s Greater Bay Area (the part of China where Hong Kong is located) to make travel more accessible for residents following the pandemic.

Whether this campaign will prove successful is yet to be seen. While Hong Kong has loosened many Covid precautions, the country is still stringent in enforcing mask mandates: those caught without a mask face a $1275 fine. Critics argue Hong Kong faced popularity problems long before pandemic times. The country’s authoritarian government routinely restricts free speech and suppresses civilian protests, disenchanting potential visitors. Perhaps Covid-19 exacerbated an already existent problem. So will these 500,000 flights be enough to save the country’s floundering tourism industry? Dr Pang Yiu-kai, the Chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, seems to think yes: “We are extending a big welcome to the world through the ‘Hello Hong Kong’ campaign, inviting friends to return to one of the world’s greatest tourism destinations. I am confident that Hong Kong’s vibrant east-meets-west culture, together with our iconic and brand-new attractions and immersive experiences, will attract travelers back for an epic, unforgettable journey.”

Check out the Hong Kong Tourism Board website for more information on how to win these tickets and redeem Hong Kong Goodies! Click here for a link to the ticket signup and here for tourism voucher redemption.

Etta Fontenot is a sophomore at Vassar College studying Film, French, and creative writing. She is fascinated by the intersection of new media and literary nonfiction, and plans to pursue a career in Journalism post-grad. Through her writing, she hopes to make vital information both intriguing and accessible to a broad audience.