Hong Kong’s popular Ngong Ping 360 cable car attraction on way up, ex-director says as it climbs out of coronavirus slump
- Company says it expects service will be restored to 2018 record levels this year as visitors from mainland China and rest of Asia return
- Former managing director Andy Lau says firm has invested HK$10 million in 10 more transparent ‘crystal cabins’ to take number to 20
Andy Lau Wai-ming, who left the company as managing director earlier this month for parent firm the MTR Corporation and a role as general manager (designated) – commercial, said the recovery was led by a strong return of visitors from mainland China and the rest of Asia in recent months.
He said the numbers of long-haul air travellers, who accounted for nearly 50 per cent of the pre-pandemic 2019 level figures last year, would take some time to get back to normal.
“One good thing about the Asia market is its peak times are spread out thoroughly throughout the year,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Post. “This is important not just to the company, but to Hong Kong’s tourism.”
The 6km (3.7 mile) cable car system connects Tung Chung with Ngong Ping on Lantau Island, the site of the Big Buddha, which also has views over the South China Sea, the massive Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, the airport and North Lantau Country Park.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board said the cable car was last year ranked the fifth most popular tourist spot by short-haul travellers and fourth by long-haul ones out of the top 10 favourites.
The attraction had 1.38 million visitors in 2023, 95 per cent of the 2019 level. The record was set in 2018 when visitor numbers hit 1.83 million.
The MTR Corp’s annual reports showed the cable car service’s revenue hit a record HK$476 million (US$60.8 million) in 2018, but fell to HK$83 million in 2022, the latest figure available.
The core groups of visitors to the cable car destination last year were from short-haul markets in Asia, which accounted for a third of the total. A third also came from the mainland and Macau.
“This had to do with our marketing strategies during Covid, even though we had our budget halved, we had to keep our profile in the market,” he explained.
The cable car company pooled its resources by teaming up with other brands such as Fila sportswear and Pocari soft drinks.
“At that time, there was no way to chase after profit because we had to shut down for months during the pandemic – what we could offer were options for activities other than the cable car,” Lau said.
Lau, who joined the company’s sales team in 2005, climbed the corporate ladder to managing director in 2019.
“At the time when I joined, the attraction was still a construction site in a forest and helicopters were shuttling building materials to the Ngong Ping highlands,” he said.
The cable car business has gone through ups and downs since its debut in 2006.
A cabin fell from the overhead cable in 2007 during a repair and maintenance period before the MTR Corp regained operation of the service from Australia’s Skyrail-ITM and got it back on track.
Hong Kong’s tourism sector is trying to recover after three years of the pandemic, with the efforts predicted to take another year.
The Tourism Board said visitor numbers were expected to jump by 35 per cent in 2024, year on year.
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Earlier this week, Cathay Pacific Airways, the city’s flag carrier, pushed back its target of restoring passenger capacity to pre-coronavirus levels by three months to the first quarter of 2025. The airline said the change was mostly down to staff shortages, especially flight crew.
Lau said Ngong Ping 360 also had a shortfall of more than 10 per cent in its almost 300-strong workforce.
Most of the shortages were in frontline positions, which management planned to get tackle by increased use of electronic solutions in areas such as ticketing, he added.
Lau said the company had made some bold moves over the pandemic, including a decision not to lay off staff. It also ruled out any unpaid leave and added 14 days paid sick leave over the crisis to retain staff.
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The firm approved a pay rise of at least 3 per cent for staff in 2023, given three months early in September the year before.
“If we did not take these measures, we could have lost even more experienced staff and it was more expensive to hire and train newcomers,” Lau explained.
“[Ngong Ping 360 chairwoman] Jeny [Yeung] was supportive of these measures and made them happen. As people know, there were companies forced to cut headcount and put staff on no-pay leave.”
Lau said the Ngong Ping 360 would add 10 “crystal cabins”, with transparent tempered glass bottoms and walls, by the fourth quarter of this year to take the number up to 20 in a bid to raise more revenue.
Tickets for the new cable cars, which involved an investment of about HK$10 million, will cost HK$395 for a return trip for an adult, about 46 per cent more than for standard ones.
Lau’s successor has yet to be announced.
