The SAR Government's $5.45-billion funding application for an expansion of the Disneyland theme park finally was approved by the Legislative Council (Legco) yesterday, after half a year of debate and disruption.
The government filed the funding application last November, but it has since not been passed at Legco. Opposition lawmakers criticized the government for unable to enjoin the Walt Disney Company to improve business operation, questioning whether the funding for expansion would be of any help. Some lawmaker even described the government funding as a move to "surrender territory and humiliate Hong Kong".
As a matter of fact, in the past two years, Disneyland suffers losses in its business operation. When a third resort hotel in the theme park opened business operation days ago, it offered half-price room and ticket packages but still could not sell out all rooms.
Hong Kong Disneyland opened in 2006, some 11 year ago. The number of visitors totals 64 million hitherto. Overall the benefit it has bought to Hong Kong's tourism can be said as barely satisfactory. Among other things, what people generally disapprove of includes that the area of the theme park is not large, that there are not sufficient entertainment facilities, and that food sold there is quite expensive. In face of competition from other theme parks in the region, expansion of the Disneyland is the only way out, or it will be in an even more disadvantageous position. Some lawmaker yesterday criticised that the government has to make the funding because "what's done cannot be undone". This is half-truth. Since the very beginning, the government's role and participation in the theme park's management and operation has remained unsatisfactory. But right now, the only way is to move forward instead of backward. Only through injecting funds to expand the theme park can it hopefully claw its way out of the current predicament. Otherwise, its future can hardly be optimistic.
Just two days ago, Shanghai Disneyland which just opened less than a year ago announced an expansion plan to build a new theme area called Toy Story Land, which will feature such cartoon figures as Buzz Lightyear and Andy loved by kids. The new theme area will open in 2018. Since its opening in June of last year, Shanghai Disneyland has attracted 8.5 million visitors, and the number of visitors is expected to exceed 10 million by its first anniversary next month. Such a performance tops all Disneyland theme parks all over the world. In face of such a strong rival, Hong Kong Disneyland's expansion brooks no delay.
Nevertheless, a more important problems brought up by Disneyland's operation and expansion is, how Hong Kong's tourism industry could maintain and improve its attraction. No doubt, as Mainland residents' living conditions keep improving, their demands and tastes for tourism are changing and upgrading. In the past, Hong Kong used to be the first choice of out-bound Mainland tourists, given its advantage of "being the right place at the right time with the right people". In addition to being a "shopping paradise", tourist attractions in Hong Kong such as the Disneyland, Ocean Park, the Peak and Repulse Bay used to be incomparably attractive. But today, there are much more choices for out-bound Mainland tourists. They can go to Europe or America to buy name-brand goods. Harrods in London and Galeries Lafayette in Paris both have Putonghua-speaking staffers to receive Mainland customers. Even the "original" Mickey Mouse in U. S. Disneyland can say "Ni Hao". In contrast, Mainland tourists are greeted with shouts of "gau wu" or "locusts" and cheated in shopping in Hong Kong. Under such circumstances, if Hong Kong's tourism industry cannot make greater improvement and adjustment fundamentally and entirely, even the $11 billion Disneyland expansion can only labour hard to little avail.
The urgent priority for Hong Kong's tourism industry right now is to rebuild the manner and social atmosphere of treating visitors with civility, friendship, fairness and following the rule of law. The crux of the problem lies in the "software" rather than "hardware". Name-brand goods and Disneyland can be found elsewhere in the world. But no other place can provide the feeling of "being one of us" longed for by Mainland visitors when visiting Hong Kong.
3 May 2017
