by Joe Kleiman, InPark News Editor
(February 16, 2016) — Theme parks in Hong Kong saw a decrease in both attendance and revenue in 2015 over the prior year.
At Ocean Park Hong Kong, attendance for fiscal year 2014-2015, which ends on June 30, fell to 7.4 million from 7.6 million in the prior year, which was the highest attended year on record for the park. The 2014-2015 year ends as the third most attended in the park’s history and the second highest for revenue. Ocean Park ranked as the 13th most visited theme park in the world according to the 2014 TEA/AECOM Theme Index, with only Disney and Universal parks in the US, Japan, and France ranking higher.
According to a report issued yesterday by Hong Kong’s Legislative Council Panel on Economic Development, Hong Kong Disneyland’s 2014-2015 fiscal year (Oct 1 – Sept 30) saw 6.8 million visitors, down 9% from the prior year. Revenue at Hong Kong Disneyland was down 6%.
Merlin Entertainments has also noted “a marked deterioration in visitation to Hong Kong,” negatively affecting attendance at its Madame Tussauds Hong Kong attraction.
Overall, visitation to Hong Kong dropped 2.5 percent from 2014 to 59.3 million in calendar year 2015. The Hong Kong Tourism Board expects that number to drop to 58.27 million in 2016. Between September 2015 and March 2016, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will have provided HK$10 million in matching advertising funds to ten Hong Kong attractions for marketing in 12 international regions, while the Tourism Board plans to invest over HK$300 million in promotional activities and campaigns during 2016.