Hong Kong to give away 500,000 complementary air tickets in an attempt to lure tourists
A Star Ferry boat crosses Victoria Harbour in front of a skyline of buildings in Hong Kong
In an effort to revive its Covid-hit tourist sector, Hong Kong says it would give away 500,000 plane tickets worth HK$2bn ($254.8m).
In recent weeks, the city relaxed a number of its coronavirus regulations. Major airlines are battling, nevertheless, to restore their flying schedules to levels before the outbreak.
British airline Virgin Atlantic said on Wednesday that it will cease operations in Hong Kong due to problems associated with the conflict in Ukraine.
Dane Cheng, executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board said, "The airport authority will finalise the arrangement with airline companies. Once the government announces it will remove all Covid-19 restrictions for inbound travellers, we'll roll out the advertising campaigns for the free air tickets."
The complimentary tickets, which were purchased to help Hong Kong Airlines during the epidemic, would be given out to inbound and outbound travellers by the city's airport authority the following year, Cheng stated.
After 30 years in the Asian aviation hub, Virgin Atlantic said it will shut down its Hong Kong headquarters and stop operating flights between the city and London Heathrow.
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Due to its adherence to China's zero Covid regulations, Hong Kong had some of the strictest laws in the whole world until recently. The Hong Kong government said last month that it will no longer require visitors to the city to undergo hotel quarantine or to demonstrate a negative Covid test before boarding flights to Hong Kong.
Now, travellers must check themselves for potential infections three days after arrival. Flights to and from Hong Kong were in high demand when the news broke.
(with inputs from agencies)