Opinion | To save Hong Kong’s Ocean Park, why not move the zoo there?

I have been thinking a lot recently about our two themed attractions, Ocean Park and Hong Kong Disneyland. Both have been badly pummelled by the pandemic. For weeks at a time they have been ordered to close, ensuring zero revenue while many costs – staff, maintaining equipment, feeding animals – cannot be avoided.

The result has been large losses. Both are likely to bounce back strongly, at least in the short term, now that social restrictions are being lifted. Even without tourists, there is likely to be a burst of visitors, given the cabin fever Hongkongers have suffered for more than a year.

But what does the future hold for both parks after the recovery surge? Global tourism revival is unlikely before next year at the earliest.

Ocean Park has a special place in the affections of many Hong Kong people because it was our first major attraction, and home-grown. However, in recent years its situation has been pretty dire. In January last year, it sought a rescue package of HK$10 billion.

This was scaled down to HK$5.4 billion and approved in May last year to keep the park going for 12 months. At that time, many legislators expressed doubts about its long-term future; tourism lawmaker Yiu Si-wing wondered whether the park should, like the West Kowloon Cultural District, be allowed to monetise spare land.

Even before the year was up, Ocean Park was back for more money. In January this year, the government said it would grant the park a further HK$2.8 billion. Interest payments on loans were waived until September 2028 and the repayment deadline extended until 2059. The fact of the matter is that the park is on life support. I certainly do not envy the predicament my friend and former colleague, Tourism Commissioner Joe Wong Chi-cho, finds himself in.