'Ocean Park Revamp Is Challenging, But Necessary'

Ocean Park's plan to radically change its business model has been welcomed by people in the tourism sector, but some residents have called for higher transparency over the park's finances.

Under the new model, the theme park will scrap its entrance fees of almost HK$500 and outsource the entire lowland area to a developer, transforming it into a shopping and dining zone for people to enter freely.

Attractions and rides in the upper park area will be charged individually.

The government is planning to pump billions of dollars of taxpayers' money into the park to help with the transition.

A tourism professor at Polytechnic University said on Tuesday that the major overhaul of Ocean Park's business model will be challenging, but it could be a long-term solution for its financial woes.

Professor Brian King from the university's school of hotel and tourism management said he thinks it's a step in the right direction to attract locals and for the park to try to improve its fortunes.

"There were losses [for Ocean Park] for several years before the government was injecting funds. This is a very different business model and that kind of change is not easy to bring about," King said.

He told RTHK's Janice Wong "I think for the Ocean Park Corporation, that changed management transition will be a big challenge, but I think it's an important, necessary one."

Tourism-sector lawmaker Yiu Si-wing said he believes Ocean Park will not suffer big financial losses under the new model, adding that it's good that management are addressing some public demands and scrapping entrance fees.

But a woman surnamed Chow, who called RTHK's Talkabout programme on Tuesday morning, said she hopes Ocean Park will be transparent about how it will use taxpayer funds.

"As a citizen, we have expectations [on the park] when it's using public money," she said.

"The management need to explain clearly how the money will be used, and they need to indeed benefit the citizens with conservation and education programmes."

The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Edward Yau, reiterated that an annual subsidy for the park is purely for its education and conservation initiatives.

The government has proposed handing the park HK$280 million a year for the next four years. On top of that, it is offering a one-off cash injection of HK$1.67 billion to "help it meet the projected amount of cash shortage in the coming financial years".