HK Falling out of Favor, Tries to Attract Tourists by Handing out 500,000 Air Tickets

Number of inbound tourists less than ten percent of pre-pandemic times

The Hong Kong government launched the "Hello Hong Kong" promotional campaign to attract tourists on Feb 2, 2023. (Benson Lau/The Epoch Times）

The Hong Kong government launched its “Hello, Hong Kong!” large-scale publicity campaign on Feb. 2. One of the key items is to give out 500,000 free air tickets to all places around the world to lure overseas and mainland Chinese tourists to come.

Hong Kong used to be an international tourist attraction, but today it has ended up giving out free air tickets to attract tourists. Some commentators believe that since the National Security Law has totally ruined Hong Kong’s image, it could also reduce tourists’ desire to visit Hong Kong.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu personally took the center stage to explain the details of “Hello, Hong Kong!” at its inauguration ceremony on Feb. 2. He recorded promotional videos in English and Mandarin, with the theme “Tell the good stories of Hong Kong,” in which he called on tourists to experience Hong Kong’s “unique charm.”

Lee said that Hong Kong had reopened its borders with the mainland and the whole world. There are no more restrictions or isolation when visiting Hong Kong. Passengers can visit the newly completed landmarks freely. He believes that there will be many tourists visiting Hong Kong in the coming year, “shopping malls will be packed with shoppers and take in much revenue.” He also believes that having the promotion of Hong Kong up and running is conducive to its economic recovery.

Give Out 500,000 Free Air Tickets Within 6 Months to Lure 1.5 Million Visitors

Fred Lam Tin-fuk, CEO of Airport Authority Hong Kong (HKAA), announced that starting in March, 500,000 air tickets will be distributed in phases for a period of 6 months. He believes it will bring 1.5 million inbound passengers to Hong Kong, accounting for more than ten percent of the passenger volume in the next six months.

Lam explained that these tickets were purchased as early as April 2020, which was one of the measures to assist the aviation industry during the pandemic. Tickets will be given to overseas tourists primarily through Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong Express, and Hong Kong Airlines, and a small amount will be reserved for the travel industry and government agencies to promote Hong Kong tourism, with Southeast Asian tourists as the prime target. The HKAA will also distribute 80,000 air tickets to Hong Kong citizens this summer; details will be announced by the airlines.

Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that local celebrities and popular internet KOLs (key opinion leaders) would be invited to promote Hong Kong, and a series of welcoming gifts called “Hong Kong Goodies” will be prepared for tourists.

Dane Cheng, Executive Director of the HK Tourism Board (HKTB), said that more than 16,000 merchants offered discounts to tourists and provided one million gifts. Starting at 5:00 p.m. on Feb 2, the reception parlors of the Tourism Board at each entry port will start distributing consumption coupons. In addition, the HKTB plans to spend at least HK$100 million (US$ 12.7 million) to promote Hong Kong to the rest of the world, including inviting Hong Kong and overseas artists to participate in the promotion activities.

Number of Tourists Less Than Ten Percent of Pre-Pandemic

According to statistics from the Hong Kong Immigration Department, in January this year, 280,000 mainland tourists and 218,000 overseas tourists entered Hong Kong, totaling 498,000. Before the pandemic, in January 2019, 5.54 million tourists from mainland China and 1.24 million overseas tourists entered Hong Kong, a total of 6.78 million. In other words, the number of tourists in January this year was only 7.3 percent of that before the pandemic.

Giving Out Air Tickets Will Cost a Lot of Money, Will it be Effective?

Veteran media person Ng Chi-sum said with a smile on his YouTube channel on Feb. 2 that he doesn’t know what the meaning of “new potential” and “new opportunity” the officials are talking about, and he doesn’t know whether the government’s propaganda is effective, but it will definitely cost a lot of public money.

He believes that Hong Kong, once a very attractive tourist city in the world, has now been reduced to the point of issuing air tickets, and wonders whether it reflects a problem in the tourism industry.

He also pointed out that the 2019 anti-extradition movement and the Hong Kong National Security Law have affected the impression of overseas tourists on Hong Kong. For example, the scenes of police brutality, the arrest of more than 10,000 people, journalists, and pro-democracy activists in prison, all these negative impressions and feelings of uneasiness, while still lingering, may reduce tourists’ desire to visit Hong Kong.

Host of Inauguration Ceremony Often Promotes Emigration to UK and Australia

The kick-off ceremony of “Hello, Hong Kong!” hosted by artist Sarah Song Xi-nian, aroused heated discussions on social media. Some netizens believe that she and her husband have been running the YouTube channel “SARAH & JASON,” which often introduces life in the U.K. and Australia. They mock the hiring of “emigrant KOLs” to promote Hong Kong’s tourism industry as not “politically correct.” Some netizens also ridiculed that for some KOLs, “showing patriotism is work, emigration is life,” and “even Australians tell the good stories of Hong Kong.”

Later, Song declared in response to media inquiries that she and her husband’s YouTube channel “tells the most about Hong Kong indeed,” such as its restaurants, grocery shopping, soup making, and cooking.

However, The Epoch Times reporter checked the channel and found that there were 29 videos in the past three months, at least 16 of which were about life in the UK and Australia. In addition, starting about half a year ago, the channel also uploaded a series of 15 episodes of “JASON in the UK” program hosted by Jason Chan Chi-san, introducing life and work experience in different British cities.