Hong Kong flights: 500,000 free airline tickets up for grabs from March in bid to boost tourism

Hong Kong is giving distant 500,000 hose tickets successful an effort to woo tourists backmost to the region.

The metropolis has rolled backmost respective COVID-19 question restrictions successful caller months including mandatory isolation connected arrival.

Now it is hoping to bounce backmost from the monolithic interaction that the pandemic had connected its tourism industry. And portion of Hong Kong’s program involves giving distant 500,00 hose tickets worthy much than €250 million.

Back successful October, enforcement manager of the Hong Kong Tourism Board Dane Cheng told the BBC that the escaped tickets were initially bought to enactment airlines during the pandemic. 

On Wednesday (1 February), Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee launched the 'Hello Hong Kong' campaign, with the giveaway starting connected 1 March.

Hong Kong received 56 cardinal visitors successful 2019 - implicit 7 times its colonisation - earlier the pandemic began. But its strict COVID-19 restrictions person been keeping visitors distant implicit the past 3 years, devastating the tourism assemblage and its economy. The city’s GDP past twelvemonth fell 3.5 per cent from 2021, according to the government’s provisional data.

How volition Hong Kong's escaped summons strategy work?

The escaped aerial tickets volition beryllium distributed by Hong Kong-based airlines Cathay Pacific, HK Express and Hong Kong Airlines, according to Fred Lam Tin-fuk, main enforcement serviceman of the Airport Authority Hong Kong.

The giveaway volition commencement connected March 1 and past for astir six months, with tickets distributed successful phases, according to The Standard Hong Kong. A further 80,000 escaped aerial tickets volition beryllium fixed to Hong Kong residents successful the summer.

Visitors tin besides bask peculiar offers and vouchers among different incentives successful the city, according to Lee.

What are the introduction requirements for Hong Kong?

Hong Kong has had immoderate of the strictest rules for travellers passim the pandemic.

The metropolis mostly aligned itself with mainland China’s 'zero-COVID' strategy and has relaxed its introduction rules months slower than rivals specified arsenic Singapore, Japan and Taiwan. 

In September, mandatory quarantine connected accomplishment was dropped. But adjacent aft Hong Kong reopened its borderline with mainland China successful January, tourism betterment was sluggish.

Now, the rules person been relaxed further. Visitors nary longer request to aforesaid isolate connected arrival, providing they trial antagonistic for COVID-19.

Inbound tourists are taxable to accelerated antigen testing connected accomplishment and again connected time 5 of their visit. If you trial positive, you are required to aforesaid isolate for 5 days successful your edifice oregon accommodation.

Proof of vaccination is besides required for those implicit 12 years old, unless you person impervious of aesculapian reasons wherefore you cannot beryllium vaccinated.

Hong Kong residents who are not afloat vaccinated volition beryllium capable to participate Hong Kong. Non-residents who are not afloat vaccinated and person visited places extracurricular mainland China, Macao oregon Taiwan wrong the past 7 days, volition beryllium denied introduction into Hong Kong.

To question betwixt Hong Kong and mainland China, a negative PCR trial taken nary much than 48 hours earlier departure is required. If you are travelling via onshore borderline power points, you must make a quota booking connected the HKSARG’s online booking system. This is not required for aerial travel.

Virgin Atlantic stops flights to Hong Kong aft 30 years

The closure of Russian airspace aft the penetration of Ukraine means immoderate airlines won’t beryllium resuming services to the city.

Virgin Atlantic announced successful autumn that it would beryllium closing its offices successful Hong Kong aft 30 years. Flights to the metropolis were suspended erstwhile the pandemic deed and had been owed to instrumentality arsenic portion of the 2023 summertime schedule.

The bearer made the determination to propulsion retired of this Asian question hub altogether. Several factors contributed to the determination including the closure of Russian airspace adding astatine slightest an hr to travel times.

Customers who had booked to question to Hong Kong with Virgin Atlantic from March 2023 person been offered a refund, voucher oregon the enactment to rebook connected an alternate way with the airline.