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An artist's impression of Ocean Kingdom on Hengqin Island.

Chinese theme parks like Ocean Kingdom in Hengqin threaten Hong Kong parks

The rise of family-focused entertainment like the Ocean Kingdom theme park over the border could threaten the Hong Kong establishment

Lana Lam

When you step inside the vast entrance of Ocean Kingdom on Hengqin Island in Zhuhai , don't be surprised if you get a feeling of déjà vu.

From the colours used in its fake sea vistas to the stuffed toys that fill the souvenir stalls, the theme park just across the border from Macau looks, sounds, tastes and even smells much like Ocean Park in Hong Kong.

That's because the same design company is behind both: US-based PGAV Destinations, which has created rides at some of America's most popular attractions in Orlando, Florida - dubbed the theme park capital of the world.

Al Cross, PGAV Destinations' vice-president in charge of design, is no stranger to Asia, having worked in Hong Kong on the grand aquarium at Ocean Park, the bright blue dome that greets every visitor.

The development of family-oriented entertainment options just over the border has no doubt caught the attention of local operators like Ocean Park and Disneyland, who have enjoyed strong growth in visitor numbers courtesy of mainland tourists.

But that could be threatened by the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge, due for completion in 2016, which will cut the drive time to Zhuhai to just 30 minutes, as well as Macau's recent announcement that the Hengqin border crossing will be open 24 hours a day, making the trip to the theme park much easier.

And with Macau set to record its first full-year decline in casino revenue, there have been blunt warnings from Beijing about diversifying into areas other than gaming - such as entertainment, meetings and conventions - alongside nearby Hengqin as part of the Zhuhai special zone.

A spokesman for Ocean Kingdom, which cost an estimated US$5 billion (HK$38.8 billion) to build, this week said it was on target to hit four million visitors since its soft opening in January.

There are also plans to expand the park, the spokesman added.

In 2013, Ocean Park had 7.73 million visitors. In the year to June, it recorded its first drop in numbers in years, which it blamed on wet weather and a mainland law that banned "forced shopping" tours.

Part of Ocean Kingdom's appeal is its size: it is twice as big as Ocean Park and set five Guinness world records for the biggest aquarium, underwater viewing dome, aquarium tank, aquarium window and acrylic panel.

That panel is an enormous LED screen, installed as a digital canopy high above visitors so that as they walk into the park, it feels like they are immersed underwater.

"That entrance is not only ground-breaking but classic Mr Su," Cross said, referring to the chairman of the Chimelong Group, Su Zhigang, who created Ocean Kingdom. Su declined to be interviewed.

"After spending years with Su, I sincerely believe he has an intuition about what the mainland Chinese guest wants and needs. That is his reputation and it turns out it is mostly right."

Su's company runs a number of theme parks in Guangzhou including a drive-through safari, a water park and Chimelong Paradise, which features 70 rides.

Cross said the approach in Asia to creating theme parks was markedly different to what he had experienced before.

"Perhaps the most striking initial thing is that Asia - but especially China - is far less interested in and far less trustful of research data that would indicate what the guest is interested in," he said.

In the US and Europe, Cross said theme park operators relied on data analysing "every nuance of what a guest wants and needs to be entertained, but that's not the case in Asia".

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: An ocean apart but theme's the same
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