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ParkWord September 2012
How many of you, I wonder, would like to have this problem: “Attendance was low – we finished the year at around 3 million people.”
Those are the words of Tom Mehrmann, as he casts his mind back to his arrival as chief executive of Ocean Park in 2004. In the last fiscal year (to June 30), the Hong Kong attraction entertained over 7 million guests. Its success since the introduction of a Master Redevelopment Plan (MRP) in 2006 has been nothing short of remarkable. It’s amazing what you can do with HK$5.5 billion (US$710m/€565m).
The MRP was introduced to make Ocean Park fit for the challenges of the 21st Century, including the arrival of Hong Kong Disneyland. Visiting this summer as the redevelopment was coming to a close, I was struck by the many changes since my first visit in 2000. Yet one thing that had not changed was the park’s stunning setting, spanning two sites overlooking the South China Sea. Starting on page 24, Tom Mehrmann details the challenges and achievements of the last six years and reveals how Ocean Park has remained true to its founding principles of conservation, education and entertainment. He also explains how the park, which operates as a not-for-profit enterprise wholly owned by the Hong Kong Government and a public trust, has managed to pull off such a capital-intensive transformation without becoming a burden to local taxpayers.
The massive increases recorded in recent years have seen Ocean Park surge ahead of Hong Kong Disneyland, with around double the annual attendance of even the busiest parks in Mainland China. So why, given the population of the country, aren’t the other Chinese parks achieving the same sorts of visitor numbers yet?
“I think that is going to come with generational exposure to the industry,” says Mehrmann. “Japan was the first Asian market to mature, and Korea is maybe next in terms of knowledge and exposure to theme parks; there is a generation or two that has already grown up with them. As income grows, as experience grows, I think you are going to find more desire in the Mainland market. A more exposed middle class is going to mean bigger attendance numbers. I suspect that’s still about a generation away, probably 20 years off, but I think it’s certainly on the horizon.”
Editor Owen Ralph (+44 161 438 2934)
parkworld@btopenworld.com
North American Editor
Paul Ruben (+1 585 381 1012)
parkw@rochester.rr.com
Contributors this issue Dr Jack Samuels, Jean Dominque Billaud, Rooie Peper
Sales Manager Mark Burgess (+44 1622 699124)
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SEPTEMBER 2012 ISSN 1462-4796
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Owen Ralph – Editor
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SEPTEMBER 2012
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