Time for HK Disneyland to 'pull up its socks'

    Updated: 2016-02-19 09:16

    By Sophie He in Hong Kong(HK Edition)

      Print Mail Large Medium  Small 分享按鈕 0

    With the Chinese mainland's first Disney theme park - Shanghai Disney Resort - due to throw open its doors in just about four months' time, Hong Kong Disneyland has been urged to go on the offensive.

    The SAR's leading theme park, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, should launch its second-phase development as soon as possible to lure more tourists and meet the challenge from its mainland peer.

    Gary Goddard, founder and chief executive of themed-entertainment design firm Goddard Group, said the time has come for Hong Kong Disneyland to get visitors to return to the park with brand-new attractions.

    "I believe Hong Kong Disneyland must now add more than just a new ride or show. They must expand the park to become a true destination resort - and design and build a second gate (a second theme park)," he told China Daily.

    The new attractions could be based on Disney's Pixar unit, Star Wars or even Avatar since the company already owns and controls these major franchises, said Goddard, who was hired by Walt Disney Imagineering as one of its youngest "imagineers" in the late 1970s.

    According to Goddard, Shanghai Disneyland will be much larger with many more rides and shows, including Marvel superheroes, Tron and Star Wars.

    He suggested that Hong Kong Disneyland could start by adding an entirely new park - something that would be exciting along the lines of what they are now doing with Avatar at Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park in Orlando, or with the new immersive Star Wars land now being planned for Disneyland in California.

    Either way would be a good move, but by creating a brand-new theme park, Disney would give everyone a reason to return and stay in the hotels as it would be almost impossible to see both theme parks in one day.

    Guan Mengying, 25, who hails from Zhejiang province and now works and lives in the SAR, is an ardent Disney fan, having bought Hong Kong Disneyland's annual pass "Silver Magic Access" for two consecutive years.

    Hong Kong Disneyland, she agreed, should start its second-phase project to attract more tourists and compete with Shanghai Disneyland, which is said to offer attractions integrated with Chinese culture and even Chinese animations.

    "When I visited Hong Kong Disneyland, I noticed that in some of its theaters, the actors and actresses speak only English and Cantonese. Although there are Chinese subtitles, it's still hard for Chinese mainland children to understand," said Guan, adding that Hong Kong Disneyland should use more Mandarin in its theater dialogues in future for the convenience of mainland visitors.

    Meanwhile, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, which opened amid great fanfare in 2005, has recorded its first annual loss since 2011.

    Time for HK Disneyland to 'pull up its socks'

    The company's latest financial report shows it slipped HK$148 million into the red for the fiscal year ending October 2015.

    Total attendance fell to 6.8 million during the year - down 9.3 percent over the previous year - while the number of mainland visitors plunged 23 percent. Mainland visitors to the park currently make up just 41 percent of the total number, compared with about half at its peak.

    Joseph Tung Yao-chung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, told China Daily that Hong Kong Disneyland's loss in its last financial year reflects the problems facing the local tourism industry.

    "Bear in mind there're not that much people coming to Hong Kong just for Disneyland," he said, adding that if Disneyland aims for a turnaround, Hong Kong's tourism industry, as a whole, must sharpen its competitiveness and take a leaf from Japan.

    "Japan hasn't launched any new attractions in the past 10 years, yet the number of tourists to the country has continued to grow because it's very clean, safe and, most importantly, Japanese people are very polite and treat tourists very well."

    Tung stressed that what Hong Kong needs is to improve on how to treat visitors.

    "Hong Kong people are very smart. Once they realize the importance of the tourism industry, they will be more polite and treat tourists better, and I'm confident more tourists will come to Hong Kong to enjoy the city."

    A Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) spokesperson told China Daily it will work with the tourism sector to promote the SAR in mainland cities, as well as Taiwan, Southeast Asia and South Korea this year.

    The HKTB will launch promotional tourism packages to get more families to travel to Hong Kong by waiving entrance fees for various attractions and accommodation costs for children.

    sophiehe@chinadailyhk.com

    Time for HK Disneyland to 'pull up its socks'

     Time for HK Disneyland to 'pull up its socks'

    Star Wars fans dressed as stormtroopers parade at Hong Kong Disneyland, Lantau Island. Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, which opened amid great fanfare in 2005, has recorded its first annual loss since 2011, according to its latest annual report. Roy Liu / China Daily

    (HK Edition 02/19/2016 page9)

    2014AV天堂无码一区| 亚洲AV中文无码字幕色三| 亚洲最大av无码网址| 精品日韩亚洲AV无码一区二区三区 | 国产成A人亚洲精V品无码性色| 最近高清中文在线国语字幕5| 国产在线无码一区二区三区视频 | 亚洲中文久久精品无码| 日韩网红少妇无码视频香港| 最近2019免费中文字幕6| 久久久久亚洲AV无码专区网站| 亚洲AV无码专区国产乱码电影| 亚洲不卡无码av中文字幕| 亚洲AV无码专区日韩| 最近的中文字幕大全免费8| 无码精品国产VA在线观看| 最近更新免费中文字幕大全 | 国产AV无码专区亚洲AWWW| 国产久热精品无码激情| 无码任你躁久久久久久 | 中文无码vs无码人妻| 中文字幕色AV一区二区三区| 亚洲中文字幕无码日韩| 成年午夜无码av片在线观看| 无码国产福利av私拍 | 免费看成人AA片无码视频吃奶| 中文字幕成人精品久久不卡| 中文国产成人精品久久不卡| 中文精品久久久久人妻不卡| 亚洲最大激情中文字幕| 中文字幕丰满乱孑伦无码专区| 亚洲AV无码成人精品区大在线| 日韩少妇无码喷潮系列一二三 | 国产高清无码毛片| 日韩AV高清无码| 中文无码喷潮在线播放| 中文无码精品一区二区三区| 国模无码人体一区二区 | 无码伊人66久久大杳蕉网站谷歌| 亚洲av无码乱码国产精品fc2| 亚洲VA中文字幕不卡无码|