Hong Kong Disneyland preparing for slow recovery despite travel bubble hopes, managing director says

The park has recently focused on the local market, and was fully booked for a few days around Easter, managing director Michael Moriarty says

While the travel bubble deal with Singapore has revived hopes for the return of international tourism, he adds, ‘from what I understand, it’s going to start off slowly’

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Disneyland’s new managing director has said the park is preparing for a slow recovery. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 7:00am, 3 May 2021Updated: 9:17am, 3 May 2021

Hong Kong Disneyland expects that its business and the city’s tourism sector as a whole are in for a slow recovery, even with a much-awaited travel bubble with Singapore due to be relaunched in May.

Michael Moriarty, Hong Kong Disneyland’s managing director, made the prediction in a meeting with members of the press on Thursday, his first since taking over the leadership role in December.

“It’s a sign that tourism and business travel back to Hong Kong and between Singapore [and the city] is returning,” he said of the bubble, which is expected to kick off on May 26. “That being said, from what I understand, it’s going to start off slowly.”

“Safety remains a priority, and because of that, it will take some time for the volume to really pick up,” he added.

Travel restrictions brought on by the coronavirus pandemic caused Hong Kong’s visitor arrivals to plummet nearly 94 per cent year on year in 2020. Disneyland was hit hard by the dearth of tourists, as mainland Chinese guests made up roughly 30 to 35 per cent of total park visitors over the past five years, while international guests mainly from elsewhere in Asia accounted for about a quarter.

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