Hong Kong Disneyland sharpens up its offering as rivals bloom and tourist numbers fall
The park is contending with falling tourist numbers and competition in bloom, but its managing director says pie big enough for all
A decade on from the launch of Disney's controversial joint venture with the Hong Kong government, the theme park is at a crossroads.
While it has overcome initial setbacks to enjoy a run of success, analysts are not forecasting a happily-ever-after story, at least in the foreseeable future.
As regional competition heats up, Hong Kong's tourism and retail sectors are slowing down on the back of the strong Hong Kong dollar, and the park's managing director Andrew Kam Min-ho says the attraction has been forced to adjust its strategy and beef up its product offering to entice visitors.
"We face challenges," Kam said.
A Shanghai Disney park three times the size of Hong Kong's opens next spring, while on the artificial island of Hengqin , near Macau, the biggest theme park in Asia - dubbed the "Monte Carlo of the East" - is under way.
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Hong Kong Disneyland ranked No 6 among theme parks in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of visitor numbers last year, down from fifth in 2013, according to a survey by architecture and construction firm AECOM.
"Yes, there will be theme parks popping up everywhere. But when the pie gets bigger, everyone will get the benefits," Kam said.
Kam said the industry was in the midst of an interesting era. Strong economic development in Asia had seen investment in theme parks and a desire among tourists to make theme parks a central feature of their holidays.
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"When I was 18 years old, my dad took me to Disneyland. It was my first theme park experience. I entered a really different world. Pretty soon, I realised I wanted to do more of this," Kam said.
Visitors from the mainland make up around 45 per cent of the park's total customers. A new park in Shanghai means mainland visitors to Disneyland will be divided between the two.
Adding to the park's woes were Immigration Department figures that showed the number of mainland visitors to Hong Kong dropped almost 10 per cent in July compared to a year earlier.
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"I am not worried about the attendance," Kam said. "With a population of 1.3 billion in China, I see a huge market."
Kam said the park's target was to double visitor numbers to 11 million by 2022 from 5.9 million in 2011, which was "attainable".
He said the mainland remained the park's "800-pound gorilla" due to the sheer size of the customer base, but it was also targeting Southeast Asia as part of its five-year expansion plan.
"The Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, as well as Indonesia hold a lot of potential," he said.
A third luxury hotel - the 750-room Disney Explorers Lodge - is on track to open in 2017, and a ride based on Marvel superhero comes online next year. Disney's purchase of Marvel and the Star Wars franchise open up new possibilities, Kam says.
"The and movies are lined up. Within Marvel, there are more than 2,000 characters," Kam said. "We have endless sources of inspiration."
