Hong Kong protests and Typhoon Mangkhut prove a perfect storm for Ocean Park as deficit more than doubles to US$72 million
- Post-storm repairs took park’s operating costs to HK$1.5 billion
- Visitor numbers have dropped as anti-government movement scares away tourists
Its deficit more than doubled to HK$557.3 million (US$72 million) in the year to June 30, from HK$236.5 million in the previous year, according to an annual report released on Wednesday.
During the financial year, revenue grew 2.9 per cent to HK$1.7 billion while the number of visitors to the park was slightly lower at 5.7 million, from 5.8 million previously.
The park said a “notable” rise in repairs and maintenance expenses required after the damage inflicted on facilities by the typhoon – which struck in summer 2018 – helped lift operating costs by 14 per cent to HK$1.5 billion.
“Ocean Park is facing fierce competition from the proliferation of theme parks in the region and an increasingly difficult market environment,” Leo Kung Lin-cheng, the park’s chairman, said.
“Despite cost pressures, it is mandatory for us to invest in new infrastructure and meticulously curated offerings to uplift the guest experience, and maintain the park’s attraction as an entertainment destination and a tourism hotspot.”
He said the park would continue to reinvent itself by stepping up hospitality services, education and conservation programmes.
Ticket prices at Hong Kong’s Ocean Park up nearly 4 per cent
Yiu Si-wing, who represents the tourism sector in the legislature, said that, regardless of external factors, the park needed an inside-out reinvention.
“Its positioning in the regional market needed a thorough upgrade even before the protests took place,” he said. “I am not talking about adding new features or enhancing programmes. It is about a sweeping change in its image, product offerings and positioning in the region.”
Set up in the 1970s, the park faces rising competition from theme parks across the border, namely Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Hengqin, Zhuhai, which positions itself as a Monte Carlo of the East.
Ocean Park’s new HK$2.9 billion water park, known as Tai Shue Wan Water World, is scheduled to open next year, while completion of a Fullerton hotel and resort at the park is due in 2021.