The Hong Kong government will give away half a million free air tickets in an attempt to revive a tourism industry that has been hit hard by the strict coronavirus restrictions. The Hong Kong Tourism Board says such tickets will be distributed next year by the city’s airport authority.
Advertising campaigns for the promotion of free tickets will begin immediately after the government announces the removal of all restrictions on foreigners. The Hong Kong Airport Authority has already received approximately £225 million to buy half a million tickets from Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong Express, and Hong Kong Airlines.
In 2020, the Hong Kong Airports Authority agreed to purchase about 500,000 air tickets from local airlines as part of an aid package to support the aviation industry. Tickets are promised to be distributed to tourists from all over the world, including Hong Kong residents, as part of a global program to restore the market.
In the first eight months of this year, only 184,000 foreign travelers were registered in Hong Kong, while before the pandemic the city received up to 56 million tourists a year.