New attractions, high hopes: Hong Kong Disneyland rolling out the red carpet for mainland Chinese visitors
- Loss-making theme park hopes overseas arrivals and reopening of border will mean more visitors to attraction after three hard years
- New attraction based on Disney hit movie Frozen will have a roller-coaster ride and an ice palace
Hong Kong Disneyland is hiring 600 frontline staff and has lined up a string of new features for visitors, as quarantine-free travel from mainland China appears imminent.
Managing director Michael Moriarty said the theme park had been gearing up in anticipation of an influx of visitors, including from the mainland and Southeast Asia, after three tough years when tourism dried up during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are very focused on the mainland and preparing for guests to arrive,” he said in an interview. “We are listening closely to rumours and have started preparations.”
Moriarty said the theme park had already prepared travel products that would be attractive to mainland Chinese, but did not elaborate.
“We have to be prudent with our spending and it really is a question of waiting for real change to happen,” he said, referring to the actual arrival of mainland visitors.