Record number of riders on cable car Ngong Ping 360 after Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge opens
- Company has seen 20 per cent increase in daily visitors since China’s 55km mega bridge went into operation in late October
The opening of the world’s longest sea bridge helped bring a record number of riders to Hong Kong’s Ngong Ping 360 cable car on Lantau Island in November, its operator said on Friday.
Company board chairwoman Jeny Yeung Mei-chun said there had been a 20 per cent increase in daily visitors since the 55km Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge opened to traffic in late October.
Riders numbered 7,000 a day on average, the firm said.
The terminal for the tourist attraction is in Tung Chung, a town which was swamped with tens of thousands of visitors on day trips from mainland China after the mega bridge went into operation.
The crowds left local residents angry, but businesses in tourism, shops and restaurants were major beneficiaries.
However, the number of visitors dried up in early December when neighbouring Guangdong instigated a province-wide ban on one-day weekend trips to Hong Kong via the bridge after November 24.
Tung Chung in Hong Kong sees major improvements after measures to control crowd chaos from mega bridge
A source familiar with the situation said the cable car company had fared better than nearby Hong Kong Disneyland, about a 15-minute train ride away from Tung Chung.
“Most of the visitors are retirees and want to see the bridge only,” the source said.
Meanwhile, Ngong Ping 360 said its head of commerce, Andy Lau, had been appointed acting managing director in place of Stella Kwan Mun-yee, who will work her last day on Friday.
