5th February 2023 – (Hong Kong) The number of tourists visiting Hong Kong has not soared after the quarantine-free border reopening. The Hong Kong government recently announced the “Hello Hong Kong” tourism promotion campaign.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Airport Authority, Fred Lam said during a radio program today (5th) that during the past epidemic period, the number of passengers at the airport was at least a few hundred per day, but currently there are 70,000 to 80,000, which is about 40% of the pre-epidemic figure. Due to the global economic slowdown, it is expected that 80% of the passenger volume before the epidemic will not be restored until the end of this year, and it will take one and a half to two years to fully recover. Lam hopes that the Hong Kong government’s global promotional activities will help Hong Kong continue to be the preferred airport hub in the Greater Bay Area, and that other regions will pay more attention to Hong Kong. He believes that in order to achieve the publicity effect, the number of free air tickets given out must be large. So far, around 700,000 air tickets have been purchased. The airlines were selling half of them while the other half were given for free. Air tickets will be allocated based on the distribution of tourists visiting Hong Kong before the epidemic.