Obtaining Free Tickets To Hong Kong By Plane

The tourism board will be giving away half a million free aircraft tickets to people all around the world as part of its new worldwide advertising campaign, Hello Hong Kong, and here’s how you can get your hands on them.

When the rest of the countries re-opened at a faster phase last year during the pandemic, Hong Kong took extra measures to strictly follow the COVID-19 protocol, which took a toll on the number of visitors to the country.

In an attempt to re-open its market to travelers, the Hello Hong Kong campaign is making it possible for people to travel for free by partnering with select airlines.

How To Get Free Plane Tickets To Hong Kong

People interested in getting free tickets to Hong Kong, need to enter their names into the flight ticket lottery on World of Winners starting March 1.

The tickets, which collectively cost $254.8 million, will be spread across three airlines – Cathay Pacific, HK Express, and Hongkong Airlines.

They will be given out to the travelers picked through the lottery in three waves. For people across Southeast Asia, it will be allocated from March 1, from April 1 to travelers in mainland China and from May 1 to people in Northeast Asia and the rest of the world.

The outbound tickets from Hong Kong will be made available in July.

Visitors To The Country Have Declined Drastically Since The Pandemic

The pandemic largely impacted tourism in Hong Kong and the country has seen as few as 100,000 visitors in 2022. Before the pandemic, an estimated 56 million travelers visited the country.

The free tickets that will be given away in 2023 are reportedly a part of the  $255 million relief package to the airlines by the government at the peak of the pandemic.

But, despite huge investments in the campaign directed towards re-opening its tourism, Hong Kong tourism board members feel the country’s infrastructure requires work.

The tourism board’s executive director, Dane Cheng, told CNN:

“I think this dilemma, we have actually been seeing from other markets and destinations when they started to reopen in the last year or so. It’s difficult to catch up … particularly for the airlines, the airports, and even hotels.”

2023 Looks Bright For The Country

A number of strategies have been incorporated by the Hong Kong tourism board in 2023 to attract tourists including more than 250 events and festivals throughout the year.

Businesswire reports, the highlights include: “the Hong Kong Marathon, the Clockenflap music festival, Art Basel, the Museum Summit 2023, Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, Hong Kong Wine and Dine Festival, and New Year Countdown Celebrations.”

The nation also has more than 100 international MICE events lined up for this year. The press release published on Thursday details what to look forward to if you’re planning a visit to Hong Kong in 2023.