Hong Kong does not skimp on the means to attract tourists to its territory again.
From March, the former British colony will offer 500,000 free plane tickets
“to introduce
visitors to the effervescence of the city”.
Participants in this vast competition will have to register on the sites of Hong Kong airlines, including Cathay Pacific.
"This is probably the biggest welcome ever in the world,"
said Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee on Thursday.
With this promotional campaign, called “Hello Hong Kong”, the government intends to relay
“positive stories”
about the Chinese special administrative region.
The task is not simple.
Years of political repression, combined with Covid-related health restrictions, among the toughest in the world, have deeply tarnished its reputation as an Asian economic hub.
Result, last year, Hong Kong welcomed only 600,000 visitors.
They were more than 65 million in 2018, a year before the start of the pro-democracy demonstrations which resulted in a takeover of the territory by Beijing.
Over the past three years, more than 130 international companies have closed their offices in this once-thriving financial hub.
In total, more than 140,000 people left the labor force.
This news as well as the fall in exports have severely weighed on the territory's economy: its GDP has fallen by 3.5% in 2022. Hong Kong is therefore employing drastic measures to rebound.