Update: The article has been updated to include details of the Hong Kong Night Treats for Locals voucher scheme.
The Hong Kong government announced is giving away 200,000 Hong Kong Night Treats for Locals vouchers, each worth HK$100, to residents of the city to spend at restaurants and bars. Hongkongers who wish to get the vouchers must register on the Hong Kong Tourism Board website, after which they can get the vouchers on a first-come-first-served basis on two dates. The first 100,000 vouchers were distributed on December 20, 2023, and the second batch of 100,000 coupons will be given away on January 10, 2024.
The vouchers are part of a series of incentives — such as coupons, discounts and other perks — to encourage residents to spend more during the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays. Some of the SAR’s top restaurants and retailers, as well as railway giant MTR, will provide Hongkongers special year-end offers to help revive the economy.
The Night Treats for Locals vouchers Hong Kong residents can be used at 1,100 restaurants and 100 bars under the Tourism Board’s Quality Tourism Services Scheme after 6pm every day, but only with a minimum spend of HK$100. Users who sign up on the tourism board’s website can only get one voucher at a time, but they may get another after they use their existing one. Each voucher is valid for 30 days after a user adds it to their e-wallet.
The government recently held a series of recreational events for Hong Kong residents and visitors to the city to enjoy, the major one being the Hong Kong WinterFest that has the territory’s largest outdoor Christmas tree. The venue for the WinterFest — West Kowloon Cultural District — was also the stage for a new 10-minute-long pyrotechnics display that took place for three consecutive weekends, starting December 9, and during the Christmas holidays.
The city’s famed New Year’s Eve fireworks show, which is the city’s go-to event for end-of-year festivities, also returned after five years, as will the Lunar New Year fireworks display. The shows were previously cancelled in 2020 due to social unrest the previous year and subsequently because Hong Kong’s anti-Covid regulations prohibited large-scale gatherings.
For more information about the Night Treats for Locals vouchers, click here.
Image credits: Leung Cho Pan via Canva