Speaking on radio on Sunday, Lam said that the Greater Bay Area is one of the focuses for the Airport Authority and hoped to establish the SKYCITY project, to be completed next year, as a landmark for GBA.

He added that two carparks are under construction on the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities Island of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge for passengers to park their vehicles before taking the plane.

Currently, the daily number of visitors to the SAR ranges between 70,000 and 80,000, at about 40 percent of pre-pandemic levels.

Considering the global economic slowdown, Lam expected the number of travelers would return to 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year, while it will take 18 months or even two years for a full recovery.

For the 500,000 free air tickets offered by the “Hello Hong Kong” campaign to lure overseas tourists to travel to Hong Kong, Lam said the promotional effect can only be achieved if the number of free air tickets offered is huge.

He also believed that the giveaway could attract global attention while other countries are “snatching” tourists at the same time.

“For this promotion to be effective, giving away 30,000 air tickets would not be enough,” Lam said.

He also refused to reveal the prices of the air tickets but said: “They are really cheap.”He added the three home-based airlines – Cathay Pacific, HK Express and Hong Kong Airlines – have been very supportive of this promotion campaign.