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Hong Kong attracted round 56 million guests a 12 months earlier than the pandemic, and the favored vacation spot is now taking important steps to deliver again vacationers after greater than two years of the world’s hardest journey restrictions.
Simply days after abandoning its current obligatory resort quarantine requirement, Hong Kong confirmed plans to offer away half one million airline tickets to spice up tourism.
the motion, introduced for the primary time Two years in the past, it was confirmed to CNN by a spokesperson for the Airport Authority of Hong Kong (AAHK), who mentioned that the five hundred,000 tickets, value about $254.8 million, would go to international guests, together with residents.
“In 2020, Hong Kong’s airport authority has bought about 500,000 airline tickets prematurely from the territory’s airways as a part of an help bundle to help the aviation trade,” the spokesman mentioned.
“The acquisition serves to inject liquidity into the airways prematurely, whereas the tickets will likely be given away to international guests and Hong Kong residents available in the market restoration drive.”
![Travelers at the departure hall of Hong Kong International Airport on September 26.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/221006110547-hong-kong-giving-away-free-airlines-tickets-to-lure-travelers-back.jpg?q=w_1110,c_fill)
Extra particulars will likely be introduced as soon as related agreements are made with the airways, they mentioned.
Hong Kong has been largely lower off from the remainder of the world as a result of its Covid-19 quarantine guidelines, which at one level required incoming vacationers to spend 21 days in a resort room on their very own, with solely residents of Hong Kong.
The quarantine interval was decreased from seven to a few days when it was formally dominated out on September 26leading to crowds of residents logging onto airline web sites to guide flights.
Cathay Pacific, the town’s flag provider, created a digital “ready room” to entry its web site at one level, whereas on-line journey reserving service Expedia noticed a ninefold improve in searches for flights from Hong Kong to Tokyo and 11 instances for flights from Hong Kong to Osaka, though curiosity in flights to Hong Kong remained flat, based on Lavinia Rajaram, Expedia’s head of public relations in Asia.
“We hope to offer most house to reconnect Hong Kong and revitalize our economic system,” Hong Kong Chief Government John Lee instructed a information convention on Friday.
However whereas the resort quarantine might have been lifted, guests to Hong Kong nonetheless face quite a lot of guidelines and restrictions earlier than and after they arrive.
Incoming worldwide vacationers should current a pre-flight vaccination certificates, in addition to a unfavourable PCR check and a fast antigen check, earlier than entry.
As soon as allowed to enter, guests should bear a three-day self-control interval, throughout which they’re prohibited from consuming in eating places or visiting bars.
Guests should additionally full PCR exams on days 2, 4 and 6 after arrival, and a fast antigen check daily for seven days.