Heads up, Pinoy travelers: Hong Kong is raffling off 500,000 free plane tickets

Itching to return to Hong Kong? You may get to return to this city for your fill of shopping, dining, and sightseeing again — for free. In a bid to revive a once-thriving tourism industry that was heavily battered amid pandemic restrictions, Hong Kong is raffling off half a million airplane tickets, with the first phase of tickets aimed at tourists in Southeast Asia. (And if there’s anything Filipinos love, it’s getting free stuff.)

The exciting raffle was announced by the Hong Kong Tourism Board as part of the rollout of their latest ‘Hello, Hong Kong!’ campaign, with a total budget of HK$2 billion (US$255 million).

“Hello, Hong Kong!” We’re ready to welcome you back.
Let’s follow Hong Kong stars like Aaron Kwok & Sammi Cheng to explore the city! We will also be giving away 500,000 free air tickets and vouchers to enjoy a welcome drink! More details: https://t.co/dWxOUhrCwX#HelloHongKong pic.twitter.com/APFjKozJY6

— Hong Kong (@discoverhk) February 2, 2023

Cathay Pacific, HK Express, and Hong Kong Airlines are the three participating airlines, with the first raffle starting on March 1. Each airline will have its own mechanisms for distributing its tickets and you will need to register on their individual websites starting on March 1 to be eligible.  

All tickets raffled will be for Economy Class, and “all related surcharges, fees and taxes would be borne by the winners.”

Filipinos are likely expected to be the first in line for the ticket giveaway: the Philippines has been Hong Kong’s top market in Southeast Asia and the seventh most important worldwide.

Pinoys also led arrivals from short-haul markets in the Hong Kong Tourism Board’s year-on-year data in December last year.

Yet last year, Singapore emerged as Filipinos’ most visited destination according to findings by booking website Agoda, based on booking data from May to August 2022. Hong Kong fell from the list, presumably due to the strict pandemic restrictions at the time.

coconuts.co Hong Kong is giving away 500,000 plane tickets to woo back tourists starting March 1 Years of harsh pandemic restrictions have battered Hong Kong’s once-thriving tourism sector and related industries. Now that those restrictions are finally (mostly) lifted, the city is making a major push… 3 Feb 2023

coconuts.co Singapore is the most popular travel destination for Filipinos, booking site says Are you heading to the Little Red Dot soon? 21 Jul 2022