LettersWhy Hong Kong Disneyland and Ocean Park should team up with city’s e-sports industry

While the theme parks are experiencing a slowdown, the popularity of e-sports is rising

The government, which has a stake in the theme parks, should ask them to submit strategic plans that support the e-sports industry so that everyone is a winner

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Participants at the Hong Kong Computer and Communications Festival at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. Photo: Handout

Published: 6:35am, 27 Apr 2020Updated: 6:35am, 27 Apr 2020

Tourism is one of the major pillars of Hong Kong as a regional economy, bringing in a lot of incremental business to related industries, including hotels, restaurants and local shops. In this regard, we urge that our two major theme parks, Ocean Park and Disneyland, in which the Hong Kong government has a major stake, be encouraged to create a strategic plan to procure and adopt local e-sports gaming content, and support augmented reality/ virtual reality technology companies incubated in Cyberport and the Science and Technology Park.

E-sports is a recognised category in the Asian Games and one that has been earmarked as one of the growing sectors now supported by fiscal policy. At the opening of a private e-sports stadium in Hong Kong in January 2019, our chief executive has also pledged her support for this growing international sport for the younger generation and as an emerging industry boosting economic growth.

While the popularity of e-sports is growing among the younger generation, Ocean Park and Disneyland have both been experiencing a slowdown. Given the fact that the government supports both parks, it makes sense for the government and our legislators to demand a strategic plan from them to also support the e-sports industry.

The benefits are manifold. First, the e-sports industry needs affordable and convenient access to space and insurance, and the experience to obtain necessary permits from the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department.

Secondly, with digital transformation, one can imagine that all these facilities could be booked, upgraded, maintained and measured for their usage much easier than mechanical rides.

Thirdly, with this partnership, the intellectual property of local digital augmented reality and virtual reality content and the e-sports industry could be promoted, while theme parks could share economies of scale and bring down the cost of marketing and customer acquisitions.