Ocean Park has been Hong Kong's most successful theme park for nearly 30 years, wowing generations of visitors with dolphin shows, stomach-churning roller coasters and a cable car ride over a mountain with spectacular views of the South China Sea.
But the marine park's hammerhead sharks are about to face a fierce new competitor: Mickey Mouse. Disneyland is opening in Hong Kong in September, so Ocean Park has to figure out how to compete with one of the biggest names in its industry.
It's a problem more companies are facing in the era of globalization. Some stick to what they've always been doing and hope the foreign intruder will stumble or be spurned by loyal local customers. But Ocean Park is taking a riskier approach, making plans to spend HK$5.55 billion (US$711 million) to revamp an attraction that has become faded, worn and dated.
PHOTO: AP
"Ocean Park needs to survive," said Allan Zeman, one of Hong Kong's most successful entrepreneurs who's overseeing the park's overhaul. "The only way it can survive is if it becomes world class."
But Ocean Park's makeover isn't just about spiffing up a venue. It's also key to Hong Kong's strategy to become Asia's top holiday destination for families. The government is backing both parks financially, and their success might depend on luring enough foreign visitors to a city known more for fine dining, dealmaking and shopping than thrill rides.
"When families think of having a holiday, they will think of Hong Kong first," said Eva Cheng, Hong Kong's tourism commissioner.
Ocean Park has no plans to go head-to-head with Disney, a US$3.5 billion park built on reclaimed land on Hong Kong's outlying Lantau Island, said Tom Mehrmann, Ocean Park's chief executive.
Mehrmann said the two parks will complement each other, and tourists will want to visit both of them. Ocean Park will be about animals and Disney will be about cartoons. Ocean Park will highlight nature, and Disney's theme will be movies. One will have a cable car, and the other a castle.
"We're Hong Kong. They're an American import," Mehrmann said.
Disneyland also says it wants to be a friendly neighbor and work together to make Hong Kong the top draw for families.
"Together with Ocean Park, Hong Kong Disneyland will bring the family tourists to Hong Kong, diversifying the tourism mix and creating new opportunities for the territory," said Don Robinson, group managing director for the Disneyland park.
The government is expected to soon approve a new subway line to Ocean Park. If built, visitors would be able to take a 30-minute ride between the park and Disneyland, which opens Sept. 12.
About 70 million people have visited Ocean Park since it opened in 1977, says the nonprofit organization that runs the government-owned venue. It calls itself an "edu-tainment" attraction because it mixes rides like the turbo drop with displays of live pandas, sharks, killer whales and other educational sites. It's a popular stop on the school field-trip circuit.
A mountain divides the park into two, and the cable car ride over the mountain shuttles people back and forth, providing a stunning view of the South China Sea. The park's new blueprint includes a 1.4km funicular tunnel through the mountain that can transport 5,000 passengers per hour, Mehrmann said.
Other new planned attractions include a "soaker coaster," a roller coaster equipped with water cannons in the cars and on the ground. People riding in the cars can shoot water at people on the ground and they can fire back.
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
CLAMPING DOWN: At the preliminary stage on Jan. 1 next year, only core personnel of the military, the civil service and public schools would be subject to inspections Regular checks are to be conducted from next year to clamp down on military personnel, civil servants and public-school teachers with Chinese citizenship or Chinese household registration, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates that Taiwanese who obtain Chinese household registration or a Chinese passport would be deprived of their Taiwanese citizenship and lose their right to work in the military, public service or public schools, it said. To identify and prevent the illegal employment of holders of Chinese ID cards or
RSS