HONG KONG — Visitors from Southeast Asia hoping to register for free airline tickets to Hong Kong experienced chaos and long waits online on Wednesday (March 1), as two major city-based carriers began rolling out the tourism-boosting giveaway.

Flagship carrier Cathay Pacific Airways’ “World of Winners” campaign — which kicked off in Thailand at noon on Wednesday, or 1pm in Singapore time — hit 17,400 registrations in just 45 minutes, with its website experiencing heavy visitor traffic in the hours before the launch.

One of the first people hoping to score a free ticket was Mr Ronnakrit Rojyindeelert, 28, a Bangkok resident who had waited for more than an hour after trying to sign up at midday Thai time.

“I applied for the free ticket because I love travelling. I want to visit Hong Kong again because I love the food there and I did not have enough of it the last time,” said the graphic designer, who most recently visited the city in 2018.

He added he would still want to visit Hong Kong even without a free ticket, but would not have done so any time soon due to pricey airfares and cost of living pressures.

The much-awaited lucky draw is part of the government’s “Hello Hong Kong” campaign, which will give away at least 500,000 airline tickets. The first round is targeting Southeast Asian markets.

After opening up for tourists from Thailand on Wednesday, Cathay’s campaign will allow visitors from Singapore and the Philippines to register on Thursday and Friday respectively. The carrier will release 12,500 round-trip economy-class tickets to Hong Kong from Singapore and 20,400 from the Philippines.

Tickets for visitors from Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia will follow in stages two weeks later. To be eligible, residents from these countries are required to sign up for free Cathay membership on the company’s website, then answer three quiz questions correctly. Each member is allowed to submit only one entry.

Ms Aya Lowe, 36, who works in the technology sector in Singapore, said the campaign was an interesting initiative to bring people back to Hong Kong.

“The quarantine and the face mask policy earlier had kept me away, as it’s not worth it if you’re just doing a short trip. I think I would definitely fly without a free ticket,” she said.

A message on Cathay’s website said it was experiencing high traffic for the campaign launch. People applying for a free ticket were placed in a queue and once visitors entered the site, they had 30 minutes to book their ticket.

But just 45 minutes into the campaign, another message on the carrier’s website showed this batch of the campaign had ended and results would be announced on March 17. Cathay said that the campaign would run until March 7 or “until 17,400 registrations had been received, whichever is earlier”.

Cathay, its budget unit HK Express, Greater Bay Airlines and Hong Kong Airlines were mandated to distribute the tickets.

Similar to Cathay, the website of Hong Kong Airlines was paralysed by a surge in visitor traffic as the carrier rolled out 6,000 round-trip “zero-dollar” tickets to Hong Kong from Bangkok, Hanoi and Manila on Wednesday morning.

A Post reporter attempting to access the company’s homepage at around 9.30am was left stuck on a screen showing a queue of hundreds and a wait time of more than two hours.

A Facebook user named Candy Wan complained on the airline’s official social media page that it took two hours to complete an online check-in and questioned whether the carrier’s server had collapsed.

Hong Kong Airlines had earlier advised interested fliers on its Facebook page to plan their travel periods and sign up for its loyalty programme in advance, while preparing to pay for surcharges and taxes applicable to their “zero-dollar” tickets.

HK Express will reveal details of its free tickets from April, focusing primarily on the mainland China and Greater Bay Area markets. Greater Bay Airlines, meanwhile, said it would give out round-trip tickets starting in May from Taipei, then Seoul in July, without mentioning how many would be offered.

The giveaway, expected to last six to nine months, forms a key part of the “Hello Hong Kong” campaign to reboot tourism, which was dealt a heavy blow by the Covid-19 pandemic over the past three years. It aims to bring in 1.5 million visitors.

Hongkongers will also be allocated 80,000 free airline tickets during the summer while another 80,000 will be up for grabs for Greater Bay Area residents. SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST