Five lakh tickets were pre-purchased by the Hong Kong airport administration two years ago, and they have now confirmed their intention to distribute those for free. The purpose is to pay customers to use Hong Kong Airlines’ services as the Asian island starts to reopen their doors to tourism. The entire value of the free tickets is around ₹2,100 crore (two billion Hong Kong dollars).

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Around five crore people visited Hong Kong annually before the COVID-19 pandemic. But, during the past two years, Honk Kong implemented some of the tightest regulations, which hurt its airlines. There are still regulations in existence for international guests even though the Hong Kong government stopped the requirement for a hotel quarantine period for visitors in September.

According to Prudence Lai, giving out free plane tickets will hasten the process of restoring Hong Kong’s standing as a top tourist destination. The senior analyst at the market research firm Euromonitor International told the BBC that Hong Kong’s pre-Covid position represented the market potential of a complete comeback.

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However, given mainland China accounts for more than half of Hong Kong’s incoming arrivals and travel receipts, this heavily depends on when mainland Chinese tourists will return, she added.

Hong Kong free tickets: How to apply?

There is no solid information on how to apply for these free tickets as Hong Kong plans to distribute the complimentary tickets next year. The Hong Kong airport authorities will provide the tickets to travellers who are travelling both inbound and outbound. However, there is no timeline as of yet.

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Hong Kong Tourism will launch the advertising campaigns for the free tickets as soon as the government declares it will stop all Covid-19 restrictions for incoming travellers, Dane Cheng, executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, told the BBC. The agreement with the airline firms will be finalised by the airport authority, he added.