Hong Kong lures tourists with free airline tickets

An unprecedented advertising campaign called "Hello Hong Kong" was organized by the authorities of the Special administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

The campaign, worth 2 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 240 million euros), is designed to promote the return of Hong Kong to the world stage as one of the leading tourist destinations and stimulate the influx of foreign investment.

The unusual feature of the campaign is that in order to attract tourists among travelers from all over the world, half a million free economy class air tickets for Hong Kong flights are provided.

The promotion will last six months. A free round-trip flight can also be won in a lottery or purchased under the "two tickets for the price of one" promotion.

The registration of air tickets is carried out in three stages. Travelers from Southeast Asian countries can apply during March, residents of mainland China - in April, citizens of other countries - in May. Another 80.000 air tickets are also reserved for Hong Kong residents traveling to other countries.

Free travel documents are distributed between Hong Kong airlines Cathay Pacific, HK Express and Hong Kong Airlines. Links to registration for tickets are posted on the websites of air carriers and Hong Kong Airport.

"Despite the fact that we issue only 500.000 air tickets, we believe that this will attract more than 1.5 million tourists. And those who have received tickets will bring two or three more friends and relatives with them," said Fred Lam, General Director of Hong Kong Airport.

In addition to free air tickets, the Hong Kong Tourism Board offers vouchers for 100 Hong Kong dollars (about 12 euros) for tourists to visit attractions, shops and restaurants in Hong Kong, as well as coupons for a free drink in one of 100 bars, restaurants and hotels as incentive prizes. In total, more than 250 different events are planned.

In the fascinating commercial of the "Hello Hong Kong" campaign, reminiscent of a musical, local celebrities talk about the cultural attractions, nightlife and culinary wealth of Hong Kong.

"A large number of tourists will visit Hong Kong in the new year. Shops will flourish, life will boil in restaurants and picturesque places," said John Li, head of the administration of the Special Administrative Region of China.

According to him, Hong Kong has resumed contacts with mainland China and the whole world and is now "entering a new era of comprehensive recovery."

Meanwhile, users of social networks have already complained that registration on the websites of airlines providing free flights often takes about two hours.

For its part, Cathay Pacific assured that the airline had no problems with registration - more than 17.000 tickets from Thailand to Hong Kong and back were issued only within one hour after the start of the action.

Commenting on the "Hello Hong Kong" campaign, the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) drew attention to the fact that the free number of air tickets for each region is calculated in proportion to the number of visitors to Hong Kong before the pandemic.

"According to the Border Service of the FSB of the Russian Federation, 21,575 citizens of the Russian Federation left for Hong Kong in 2019: this is 0.04% of the total tourist flow to Hong Kong. It turns out that Russians theoretically can get only 200 free tickets," ATOR reported.

At the same time, it should be borne in mind that there are no direct flights from Moscow to Hong Kong today. The flight is possible with a transfer in Turkey, Qatar, the UAE or Ethiopia.

Until the end of 2022, Hong Kong had one of the world's toughest approaches to combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Mandatory wearing of sanitary masks indoors, on the street and in public transport was canceled only on March 1 of this year.

The requirement to wear protective masks was in effect for almost 1.000 days and was mandatory for anyone over 2 years old under penalty of a fine of HK$ 10.000 (1.200 euros).

By the end of 2022, a total of 22.000 fines were issued in Hong Kong for offences related to wearing masks, and an amount equivalent to 13.4 million euros was collected.
Since 2019, Hong Kong's tourism industry has been in decline due to large-scale opposition street protests and protective restrictions imposed in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.

If in 2018 about 65 million travelers visited Hong Kong, including more than 720.000 tourists from Europe, then in 2019 their number decreased to 56 million. In 2021, it reached less than 100.000 people, and last year it grew to 600.000.