Tourists visit the Peak Hong Kong scenic spot in south China's Hong Kong, Aug. 20, 2019. (Xinhua/Lu Hanxin)

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) Monday launched the "Holiday at Home" campaign to encourage Hong Kong residents to explore their home place and boost local consumption.

Hong Kong residents are unlikely to travel overseas in the short term as many countries and regions have issued entry restrictions at different levels due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the HKTB said in a statement.

In response to the travel restrictions worldwide, the board begins with revitalizing local market as the first step to revive Hong Kong tourism.

The campaign provides Hong Kong residents with information on local venues and activities to facilitate the in-depth exploration of Hong Kong.

Local hotels, restaurants, attractions, shopping malls and credit card networks offer promotions to boost spending. Residents can also redeem local tours through spending.

Tourists visit a scenic spot at Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong, south China, Nov. 14, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhu Xiang)

 
"By doing so, we hope to rebuild the city's vibrant atmosphere and give the world a positive impression so that visitors will feel confident about coming to Hong Kong again," Chairman of the HKTB Pang Yiu-Kai said.

Once it is possible for visitors from a certain market to travel to Hong Kong, the HKTB will extend to them the travel and local spending information and offers featured in the campaign, together with flight-and-hotel packages, Pang said.

The HKTB also announced that the provisional figure for visitor arrivals to Hong Kong in May was 8,100, a drop of nearly 100 percent from the same time last year.

It is believed that most of these visitors came to Hong Kong for real needs, such as studies and daily living, the board said.