Yes, you heard that right. Hong Kong is giving away 500,000 free flight tickets to those traveling to Hong Kong. So, that it could enhance tourism in their land which was downfallen due to the coronavirus pandemic, the free tickets are here for you.
The free tickets are supposed to be worth more than 250 million dollars to kick off the promotion of Hong Kong tourism globally.
When and How to Get Free Flight Tickets To Hong Kong?
Firstly, it’s a scheme to promote tourism by providing free airline tickets by the Hong Kong Government. To attract tourists back to Hong Kong with a giveaway titled “Hello Hong Kong”, which was announced on 2nd Feb 2023, Thursday, on which the Hong Kong Government had been working to unveil it for around two years.
According to the announcement, tickets will be provided for six months, starting from March.
Secondly, the Hong Kong Government will begin distributing the free air tickets in March, starting with Southeast Asia, followed by Mainland China in April, and then Northeast Asia and other parts of the world from May.
What about the Travel Restrictions?
With its prolonged travel restrictions, which had an impact on its tourism sphere, Hong Kong has announced to give away 500,000 air tickets to visitors intending to visit Hong Kong expecting a recovery of aviation and tourism.
Wuhan, a city in China, from where COVID-19 started spreading widely and disastrously. Authorities have effectively controlled it for now and are applying more methods to eradicate it.
Moreover, the compulsion to isolate oneself while you enter Hong Kong has been lifted since September to boost this scheme, expressing that people will be allowed to travel to and from mainland China and other parts of the world effortlessly.
Finally, no PCR, no isolation, no pre-registration, and no restrictions. So, to the honored guests intending to travel to Hong Kong, let the destination welcome you.
How Will You Get Your Free Air Ticket: About the giveaway and Participation
The free tickets, that Hong Kong is planning to give away are through its three main carriers – Hong Kong Airlines, HK Express, and the flag carrier of Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific.
The airlines will give away around 80,000 of the 500,000 air tickets to Hong Kong residents through different channels.
Among all the tickets, 65% of the tickets will be distributed by the airline itself through its different platforms like online booking, distribution through systems, and agents.
The free tickets are a part of the 2 billion relief package provided to the Hong Kong Aviation Industry by the government in 2020 when the pandemic was erratic at that time.
Now that you don’t get the free tickets that easy peasy but, you can be the one flying in Cathay Pacific, HK Express, or Hong Kong Airlines, only after participating in it.
After March 1, starting from Southeast Asia, you can participate by entering your name in the free flight tickets lottery program.
You can win free plane tickets to Hong Kong through different approaches:
- Lucky Draw
- First come, first served
- By one or more, and get another one free
- Through games
- Planning of Airlines to distribute free air tickets
You can also learn more about the methods on the respective airline’s websites.
Know more about HELLO HONG KONG’s initiation on the WORLD OF WINNERS page.
Perks of Participation in the Hello Hong Kong Campaign
The campaign offers not only free air tickets but also perks like vouchers worth over 100 HKD to attract people to travel. These perks will provide discounts for food and drinks along with travel and accommodation at hotels.
You can get those from the border checkpoints where you will find the tourist inquiry counters.
Will it be effective: The Initiative?
This is quite a commendable approach by the Hong Kong Government to enable its long-stranded aviation and tourism sector while being slowly recovered from the disastrous effect of the Covid pandemic.
There might be an effective plan on providing free air tickets to Hong Kong worth around 250 million dollars which nobody would freely spend without a good futuristic preview benefiting Hong Kong.
However, gradually opening border restrictions with no prior health checks like PCR test before travel or a full dose vaccination might not get as good results as the initiative is expecting to get. Nevertheless, we wish that everything goes as planned.
Hong Kong, which used to have a flow of more than 50 million visitors from around the world before has fallen gradually due to the pandemic. We hope Hong Kong strengthens its tourism again, which was thriving before the pandemic, and continues to grow even more.
Conclusion
To those eager to visit Hong Kong for their vacation purpose, here you’ve got a chance to get yourself in the air on free air tickets provided by the “Hello Hong Kong Campaign”.
So, if you wish to travel on free tickets through their channels, then stay tuned and look out for the airline sites for more updates.
Hong Kong is calling. Which date are you planning to travel to Hong Kong?
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