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May Chan

The opening of Disneyland is poised to attract thousands of mainland and local tourists, but travel agents believe many will  avoid expensive accommodation and entrance fees.

Leung Chui-han,  spokesman for the inbound Chinese visitor department of the China Travel Service (Hong Kong),  said 2,000 mainland travellers had already booked tickets to visit the park in the first week of October.

However, most had chosen not to stay the night in Hong Kong, she said.

'If a mainland family chooses to visit the park and stay the night, it will cost them several thousand dollars. Most of them choose not to stay the night. Even if they do, they book hotels outside the park, which are considerably cheaper.'

But this does not seem to pose a problem for the two Disneyland hotels, which have been heavily booked for weekends  in September and for  the October 1 holiday weekend.

'The Disneyland hotels have enough customers from the upper market,' Ms Leung said.

Local tour providers were catering for the large number of Hong Kong families wanting a glimpse of the park without having to pay the entrance fees, said Iris Cheung Wing-cheong,  manager of tour operator Fat Tat Hang.

Admission to the theme park, which opens on September 12, is  $295 for adults and $210 for children.

Taking into account all related costs such as transport, food and other expenses, a day out at the park could cost a family of four nearly $2,000. 'Not all local families can afford that money,' Ms Cheung said. 'They need an alternative.'

Ms Cheung's company is offering boat trips cruising around the park's shoreline.  The whole-day trips, at  $100 a person,  will allow people to see the Disney buildings and fireworks display.

They attracted more than 1,000 people during the first week of the month and about 6,000 have signed up for trips next month,  after the park's grand opening.

'I am happy to see that local tour providers still benefit from Disneyland,' Ms Cheung said.

'We have not been able to offer a competitive local Disneyland package because there are no special rates to travel agents.

'But we have managed to discover another group of customers outside the mainstream.  It is not the same as visiting the park, but it still gives them satisfaction in some way.'



Tour firms offer Disney thrills without a price tag to match