Disney income can cover expansion costs
Views heard: Secretary for Economic Development & Labour Stephen Ip takes questions on a radio talk show.
Hong Kong Disneyland's operating income will cover the cost of expanding its facilities, Secretary for Economic Development & Labour Stephen Ip says.
Speaking on an RTHK talk show today, Mr Ip said a million visitors have visited the theme park since its opening. With a daily average of 14,000 visitors - only 1,000 less than the Government's estimate - he said the park's operating income will be sufficient to cover expansion expenses. The Government will not need to inject any funds.
He said the park must enhance Mainland marketing as the Individual Visit Scheme has been expanded to cover 200 million people in 38 cities.
More Hong Kong Parks mooted
More than 19 million people visited Hong Kong in the first 10 months of the year, putting the year's target of 23 million well within reach. The theme park and the Individual Visit Scheme are some of the many factors which help boost tourism.
The Government is discussing building more theme parks.
When asked whether the WTO 6th Ministerial Conference will benefit tourism, Mr Ip said more than 10,000 people will take part and most hotels in Central and Wan Chai are fully booked.
As some visitors may want to avoid coming to Hong Kong during the conference, the Tourism Board offers updates on the latest situation on its website.
2011 Hong Kong Cruise terminal
Mr Ip said a site at the end of the old Kai Tak Airport runway is suitable for proposed cruise terminal facilities.
To ensure the site selected is the best available and acceptable from a town-planning viewpoint, a two-month open invitation for expressions of interest was launched last month. It will ascertain whether there are suitable and feasible sites other than Kai Tak for a new terminal.
Mr Ip said if a site cannot be identified through this call for expressions of interest, the Government will focus on developing a terminal at Kai Tak for 2011.
