Hong Kong is ready to welcome the world back, its leader said Thursday, pledging more than half a million free flight tickets.
The government’s rebranding campaign, “Hello, Hong Kong”, bills itself as an effort to tell “good stories” about the neighbouring Special Administrative Region.
Promising “no isolation, no quarantine and no restrictions” during a speech to business and tourism heavyweights, Chief Executive John Lee announced 500,000 free air tickets for visitors to experience the city’s “hustle and bustle”.
The giveaway will open in March, and mainly be distributed by local airlines Cathay Pacific, HK Express and Hong Kong Airlines.
Another 80,000 tickets will be offered to residents in the summer, with the carriers yet to announce destinations.
“This, ladies and gentlemen, is probably the world’s biggest welcome ever,” Lee said.
Adherence to the zero-Covid policy of quarantine, closed borders and face masks kept Hong Kong largely virus-free until a deadly Omicron outbreak at the start of 2022.
The controls virtually closed off what was previously one of Asia’s most connected cities.
Hong Kong welcomed just 600,000 visitors in 2022, less than one percent of 2018’s figure.
Lee promised to correct the poor publicity he and other government officials have blamed for the metropolis’s malaise.
“I will personally carry the promotional messages of our prowess as the world’s freest economy and China’s international financial centre.”
Speaking to AFP at the campaign launch, Peter Burnett, the former chair of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, said “the proof will be in the pudding” for the reboot.
“At least they’re doing something about it. And that to me is very, very encouraging.”
