Any well-travelled person will tell you that Hong Kong (HK) is undoubtedly among the world’s most fascinatingly diverse cities. The densely populated city is home to everything from quaint boutiques to opulent retail centres, traditional street fare to cutting-edge cuisine, lively street art to world-class exhibitions, and even to an abundance of green space and rural parks.
That is why as the pandemic begins to abate, the Hong Kong Tourism Board will be giving away a whopping 500,000 airline tickets worth the equivalent of HKD2 billion (approximately RM1.1 billion) once the state’s coronavirus restrictions are relaxed to entice visitors to return to the city.
The ‘Hello Hong Kong’ campaign has been in the works for over two years in an effort to promote tourism in HK and draw in tourists, investors, and enterprises.
The tickets will be sold through all three of HK’s airlines: the city’s flagship carrier, Cathay Pacific, as well as regional carriers HK Express and Hong Kong Airlines.
Scoring tickets
Visitors who are eager to fly to HK can register their names in the flight ticket lottery by visiting the World of Winners splash page from 1 March 2023. The first round of ticket distribution will begin on 1 March for winners of Southeast Asia, followed by mainland China on 1 April, and finally the rest of the world on 1 May.
Participation is open to HK natives too. Locals seeking to make up for lost travel time will receive plane tickets starting 1 July.
Tickets will be given away through various means, including raffles, games, contests, and buy-one-get-one specials. Winners of the free economy class tickets will, however, be responsible for paying any applicable fees and taxes.
HK’s latest travel requirements
Travellers are no longer be subject to quarantine, isolation, or vaccine restrictions as of 6 February 2023. The pre-departure COVID-19 test requirement is still in place for travellers arriving from Taiwan or other foreign countries. Additional details can be found on the HK travel requirements page.
The wearing of masks is mandatory in most public places including public transport, save for exempted circumstances — such as in country parks or while exercising.
