Itching to return to Hong Kong? You may get to return to this city for your fill of shopping, dining, and sightseeing again — for free. In a bid to revive its once-thriving tourism industry that was heavily battered amid pandemic restrictions, Hong Kong is raffling off half a million airplane tickets, with the first phase of tickets aimed at tourists in Southeast Asia. (And if there’s anything Filipinos love, it’s getting free stuff.)
The exciting raffle was announced by the Hong Kong Tourism Board as part of the rollout of their latest ‘Hello, Hong Kong!’ campaign, with a total budget of HK$2 billion (US$255 million).
“Hello, Hong Kong!” We’re ready to welcome you back.
— Hong Kong (@discoverhk) February 2, 2023
Let’s follow Hong Kong stars like Aaron Kwok & Sammi Cheng to explore the city! We will also be giving away 500,000 free air tickets and vouchers to enjoy a welcome drink! More details: https://t.co/dWxOUhrCwX#HelloHongKong pic.twitter.com/APFjKozJY6
Cathay Pacific, HK Express, and Hong Kong Airlines are the three participating airlines, with the first raffle starting on March 1. Each airline will have its own mechanisms for distributing its tickets and you will need to register on their individual websites starting on March 1 to be eligible.
All tickets raffled will be for Economy Class, and “all related surcharges, fees and taxes would be borne by the winners.”
Filipinos are likely expected to be the first in line for the ticket giveaway: the Philippines has been Hong Kong’s top market in Southeast Asia and the seventh most important worldwide.
Pinoys also led arrivals from short-haul markets in the Hong Kong Tourism Board’s year-on-year data from December of last year.
Yet last year, Singapore emerged as Filipinos’ most visited destination according to findings by booking website Agoda, based on booking data from May to August 2022. Hong Kong fell from the list, presumably due to the strict pandemic restrictions at the time.
