Reviving the Tourism Industry
After being largely cut off from the rest of the world due to its strict Covid-19 quarantine rules, Hong Kong is now taking significant steps to win tourists back. The popular destination attracted around 56 million visitors a year before the pandemic, and the government is eager to recapture this lost market.
Source: media.cnn.com
Just days after dropping its mandatory hotel quarantine requirement, Hong Kong has confirmed plans to give away half a million airline tickets in a bid to boost tourism. The move, first announced two years ago, was confirmed to CNN by a spokesperson from the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), which said that the 500,000 tickets, worth around $254.8 million, would go to global visitors, along with residents.
“Back in 2020, Airport Authority Hong Kong purchased around 500,000 air tickets in advance from the territory’s home-based airlines as part of a relief package to support the aviation industry,” says the spokesperson. “The purchase serves the purpose of injecting liquidity into the airlines upfront, while the tickets will be given away to global visitors and Hong Kong residents in the market recovery campaign.”
Market Recovery Campaign
Further details will be announced once the relevant arrangements have been made with airlines, they said. The AAHK spokesperson emphasized that the move is part of a broader effort to revitalize the economy and reconnect Hong Kong with the rest of the world.
“We hope to give the maximum room to reconnect Hong Kong, and to revitalize our economy,” Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee said in a press conference on Friday. However, while the hotel quarantine may have been lifted, visitors to Hong Kong still face various rules and restrictions before and after arriving.
Incoming international travelers must submit a pre-flight vaccination certificate, as well as a negative PCR test and rapid antigen test, before entering. Once they’ve been permitted to enter, visitors are required to undergo a three-day self-monitoring period, during which time they’re prohibited from eating in restaurants or visiting bars.
Visitors also need to complete PCR tests on days 2, 4 and 6 after arrival, and a rapid antigen test every day for seven days. Despite these challenges, the Hong Kong government remains committed to attracting tourists back to the city.
Cathay Pacific, the city’s flag carrier, set up a virtual “waiting room” to access its website at one point, while online travel booking service Expedia saw a nine-fold surge in search for flights from Hong Kong to Tokyo and 11-fold for flights from Hong Kong to Osaka – although interest in flights to Hong Kong remained unchanged, according to Lavinia Rajaram, Expedia’s Asia head of public relations.
“We are excited to see the interest in flights to Hong Kong and are working closely with our airline partners to make travel to the city as seamless and enjoyable as possible,” said Rajaram. The move by the Hong Kong government to offer 500,000 free air tickets is a significant step towards reviving the tourism industry in the city.
By providing a boost to the aviation industry and making travel to Hong Kong more accessible, the government hopes to attract more visitors to the city and stimulate economic growth. Only time will tell if this strategy will be successful, but one thing is certain – Hong Kong is open for business and ready to welcome tourists back.
