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Hong Kong’s Ocean Park going through a more challenging phase than the 2003 Sars outbreak because of protests, outgoing boss says
- Protests have been a bigger challenge as they are continuing for a longer period compared to Sars outbreak in 2003, outgoing chief Matthias Li says
- Park saw tour group visitors fall about 56 per cent and individual visitors from mainland China and overseas fall 60 per cent between July and October year on year
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Hong Kong’s Ocean Park is going through a more challenging time now because of the months-long civil unrest than the period when Sars broke out in 2003, its outgoing chief executive said, as he predicted a “slower” tourism rebound.
Matthias Li Sing-chung, 65, the park’s CEO, said the outbreak of the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) epidemic was one of the biggest challenges during his 25 years at the popular tourist attraction, as “no one would have visited even if free tickets were offered”.
Li said during the Sars outbreak, the park was forced to shut its gates and cut its workers’ salaries for one day every week.
“[But] if I compare the ongoing social unrest with the 2003 outbreak, I find the time now to be more challenging,” he said in an interview ahead of his retirement. “Sars lingered for about three to four months. But the present unrest is lasting longer.”
Anti-government protests have escalated into violent clashes between radicals and police since June, with more than 40 jurisdictions across the globe issuing warnings or alerts for travellers heading to the city.
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