By The SUN
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| CE Lee (middle) says the tourism campaign is probably the world's biggest welcome ever |
Hong Kong officials led by Chief Executive John
Lee unveiled a massive tourism campaign earlier today, Feb. 2, which involves
giving 500,000 free air tickets to visitors from overseas, and a million
vouchers worth $100 each for them to spend during their visit here.
A further 80,000 air tickets will be given to
residents in the summer, and an additional 80,000 reserved for visitors to the
Greater Bay area.
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Speaking at the launching ceremony, Lee said the $100
million “Hello, Hong Kong” campaign is “probably, the world’s biggest welcome
ever.”
The aim, he said, is to focus on four major areas that will put the international
spotlight on Hong Kong again.
The free tickets will be distributed starting
March 1 by Cathay Pacific, HK Express and Hong Kong Airlines through their
overseas offices via lucky draws, games and “buy one get one free” promotions.
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They were bought by the Hong Kong Airport
Authority about two years ago to help the airlines get over the financial
difficulties wrought by the pandemic.
Fred Lam, chief executive officer of the Airport
Authority, said each visitor who gets a free ticket would likely bring two or
three companions along, which could result in 1.5 million people traveling to
Hong Kong in total.
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This would account for about 10 percent of the expected
arrivals in the city in the first half of the year.
Lam said the free economy round-trip tickets will
be distributed in phases. In the first phase which starts on March 1, the
tickets will be distributed to inbound travelers from Southeast Asia, - which includes
the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.
In the next phase which will take place in April
and May the tickets will be handed out in Northeast Asian countries like Japan and South Korea, followed by mainland China.
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Residents will get their round-trip outbound
tickets in July onwards.
“This is all part of the idea of 'Hello Hong
Kong' within Hong Kong, so we also feel that perhaps this is a way to let Hong
Kong people share the same joy that this campaign would bring about,” Lam said.
Meanwhile, the Tourism Board said it will hand
out one million cash vouchers of at least $100 each, for tourists to
use on drinks, food, shopping or transport.
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Visitors who will stay in the city for no more
than 90 days starting at 5pm today can receive the $100 voucher along with a
free drink and other goodies including an exclusive gift worth more than $100.
The goodies will be distributed on a first-come,
first-serve basis.
Visitors can collect a redemption card at four
locations across the city including the airport, Hong Kong –Zhuhai-Macau
Bridge, Star Ferry pier in Tsim Sha Tsui, and West Kowloon’s high-speed railway
terminus.
They will then
have to register an account on the Tourism Board’s website using an overseas number, and scan the QR code on
the redemption card to get the e-coupons for redeeming the free drink and gift
at selected shops.
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| PADALA NA! |
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