Exclusive | Ocean Park to seek Hong Kong government help for HK$10 billion bid to revive ailing resort
- Cash injection vital to save theme park and transform facilities amid punishing competition across region, source says
- City lawmakers to hear funding proposal later this month, with the attraction ‘losing a fortune’ every month
Ocean Park in Hong Kong will seek government support for a HK$10 billion (US$1.3 billion) rescue plan to reinvent the beleaguered attraction in the face of financial turmoil and strong competition from across the region, the Post has learned.
A source with knowledge of the package said the 43-year-old resort in Southern district needed an immediate cash injection to stay afloat after falling visitor numbers in the four consecutive years to 2019 brought its finances to the brink.
A war chest was also required to fund a major upgrade over the medium term so its attractions could compete with rivals in China and across the Asia-Pacific, the source added.
“It needs fresh blood after suffering huge losses last year and this year,” the source said. “Every single month, it has lost a fortune.”
The park in the south of Hong Kong Island, which at one stage received donations from the Hong Kong Jockey Club, operates as a non-profit organisation and on a site provided for free by the government, which appoints its board members.
The government has a 53 per cent stake in the city’s Disneyland attraction, with Walt Disney in the United States owning the rest.
