Hong Kong plans 500,000 plane-ticket giveaway to lure tourists

Hong Kong will give away 500,000 plane tickets to lure visitors back to the financial hub when the government removes all remaining restrictions on inbound arrivals, local media outlet Sing Tao reported in a column, citing people it didn’t identify.

Chief Executive John Lee may announce the plan to return to normalcy in his October policy address unless the Covid-19 situation significantly worsens, the report said, citing political and business groups.

The giving away of the tickets, which the government purchased in 2020 to attract travelers, is one of the measures aimed at boosting tourism, it said, according to Bloomberg.

Expectations are building that Hong Kong will look to scrap remaining restrictions on inbound travelers, who are barred from going to bars or eating at restaurants for three days and must test daily for seven days, following the recent removal of mandatory hotel quarantine. The city’s tough Covid-19 rules have kept it isolated for most of the pandemic, tarnishing its standing as a global financial center and battering its economy.