Hong Kong’s Ocean Park credits new MTR line and early Lunar New Year for double-digit growth in visitors
South Island Line, special offers and holiday period contribute to boost in January figures
A new MTR line, big discounts and an early Lunar New Year holiday helped Ocean Park post a 30 per cent surge in visitor numbers last month compared to the same period a year ago, its management said on Thursday.
Park chief Matthias Li Sing-chung said the combined factors had contributed to a “very ideal double-digit” growth in visitors and a subsequent boost for in-park spending.
Cautioning against reading too much into the numbers however, Li said since the Lunar New Year often did not fall in January, year-on-year comparisons did not paint an accurate picture of the boost to park traffic.
Nevertheless, he said, “since the opening of the MTR line, we’ve seen more local and mainland tourists come ... and spend more time”.
The park recorded a deficit of HK$241 million in the financial year ending last June – its first since the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in 2003. It is also recovering from an 18.8 per cent drop in visitors in that period.
