Perks and prizes are up for grabs this summer for Hong Kong residents that choose to get vaccinated against Covid-19, courtesy of several local tourism businesses that have pledged their support for the government’s inoculation drive.
This month, Ocean Park and Hong Kong Disneyland have respectively prepared US$26 cash coupons and US$32 gift bags for eligible residents, while Cathay Pacific is hosting a lottery that dangles a ‘flycation’ onboard an A321neo as the ultimate prize plus a total of 20 million Asia Miles mileage for 110 residents.
Genting Cruise Lines is running the Go! Super Seacation Sweepstakes for Hong Kong residents that agree to a jab. Five prizes are offered, including the grand prize of an All-You-Can-Cruise Annual Pass that comes with accommodation in a Deluxe Balcony Stateroom for up to four guests, worth about US$500,000 million.
Genting Cruise Lines, president, Kent Zhu, said the move was to thank Hong Kong residents for their enthusiastic support towards the company’s cruise resumption as well as their continued efforts in the fight against the pandemic.
Hotel companies have jumped behind the territory-wide vaccination drive too. Chinachem Group, which owns Nina Hospitality, has set aside US$2.6 million worth of accommodation vouchers across its properties, cash vouchers and dining passes.
Real estate firm Great Eagle Group has also introduced the Stay Safe and Save package that offers 1,000 room nights every month from June 1 to August 31, 2021 at 50 per cent off. The incentive, available at participating hotels such as The Langham, Hong Kong, Cordis, Hong Kong, and Eaton HK, is reserved for guests who have received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Langham Hospitality Group, CEO, Stefan Leser, told TTG Asia: “We need to play our part in helping with the vaccination effort, as we want Hong Kong to reach herd immunity at a quicker pace. Getting vaccinated is a step in the right direction and will bring us much closer to the long-awaited recovery of the hospitality sector. We hope that by offering these very attractive enticements, we can encourage more residents to get vaccinated so that our borders may open and travel will resume safely for everyone.”
In addition, Hong Kong Tourism Board is now considering a new round of Free Tours and Staycation Delights redemption programmes as well as ‘seacation’ offers to residents who have been vaccinated. Details on the redemption programmes are expected to be released later this month.
Hong Kong’s tourism businesses are not the only ones financing pro-vaccination campaigns. As of June 14, HK$160 million (US$20.6 million) worth of offers have been rolled out by businesses from various industries. Vaccinated residents can potentially earn dining and shopping vouchers and gold bars, set up fixed interest rate savings accounts with a local bank, or enter lotteries that could win them Mercedes-Benz cars, a flat in Kwun Tong worth US$1.4 million, and cash coupons redeemable for first-hand property purchases.
These perks appear to be paying off, as Hong Kong’s daily vaccination rate has surged substantially. At press time, 3,006,207 doses have been administered. Daily vaccination rate is nearly hitting 46,000 compared to an average of 7,000 at the start of the vaccination programme in late-February.
Frequent flyer programme customers of Star Alliance member airlines will soon be able to use their biometric identity at any participating airport following a new agreement between the alliance, NEC Corporation and SITA.
Connecting to SITA‘s Smart Path solution, the Star Alliance biometrics platform will be able to use SITA’s shared airport infrastructure already available in more than 460 airports.
Together with SITA and NEC’s global presence, which was strengthened through a July 2021 partnership, multiple biometric projects can be delivered in parallel, speeding up the availability of biometric passenger processing to Star Alliance’s member airlines globally.
A further advantage is the integration of NEC I:Delight platform, which allows passengers who have opted to use the service to be identified quickly and with a high degree of accuracy, even on the move. The I:Delight platform is also able to recognise passengers even when wearing a mask, an increasingly important feature for travel during the current pandemic. The platform is already in use by Star Alliance member airlines at several airports in Europe.
Uniquely, passengers using Star Alliance’s biometrics platform enroll only once. Passengers can pass through biometrically enabled touchpoints across multiple member airlines and participating airports using just their face as their boarding pass. This speeds up the passage through the airport while making each step completely touchless, supporting important health and hygiene safety measures in times of Covid-19 and delivering on Star Alliance’s vision of a seamless customer experience.
Jeffrey Goh, CEO, Star Alliance, said: “This agreement is instrumental in bringing further scale to our biometrics service, with the inherent benefits of speed and meeting customer expectations for a more touchless and hygienically safer experience across all of our member airlines. Biometrics is a key element of that experience and our strategy of leading the way in digitalising the passenger journey.”
Barbara Dalibard, CEO, SITA, said: “Passengers have long welcomed the advantages of control and speed automation brings to the passenger journey; a trend that has been accelerated by Covid-19. With this agreement the benefits of biometric identity will be extended from a single airline or journey to a vast network of airlines. That is truly unique and demonstrates the benefits digital identity can bring to the passenger.”