Cleaners disinfect an area of the entrance, as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 novel coronavirus, at the currently closed local theme park Ocean Park in Hong Kong on May 19, 2020. (ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP)
HONG KONG - The SAR government said on Monday Hong Kong’s two theme parks will reopen soon in a move to boost the local economy - despite concerns over a recent coronavirus infection cluster linked to a public housing block.
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah told reporters Ocean Park would start to welcome visitors on Saturday. This comes after a four-month suspension of its operations due to the coronavirus
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah told reporters Ocean Park would start to welcome visitors on Saturday. This comes after a four-month suspension of its operations due to the coronavirus.
Hong Kong’s Disneyland resort also plans to resume operations soon, but an exact date for its re-opening has yet to be announced by the amusement park.
Ocean Park recently revealed that it was close to bankruptcy and had received a cash injection of HK$5.4 billion from the government. It said it will lower its entrance fee by 30 percent for all adult visitors. Children aged 11 or below and people aged 65 or above will be offered free admission until the end of July.
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Yau said they had consulted health authorities before coming to this decision. The park will implement public hygiene measures including compulsory masks for all guests, a restriction on visitor numbers, and advanced bookings.
The government extended an eight-person limit on public gatherings until June 18 last week after a new coronavirus cluster was reported.
All visitors are required to make reservations online with admission tickets of the dates of their visits to prevent overcrowding. Visitors can book visits for up to eight people per group and up to 14 days in advance.
In the first two weeks of reopening, the capacity of the park will be reduced to 25 percent, which will then be gradually increased to 50 percent. Individual rides and the capacity of facilities will be reduced by half. Other measures aimed at providing safe social distancing between visitors will also be implemented.
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Hong Kong Tourism Board chairman Pang Yiu-kai said he believes a reopening of the park, coupled with other schemes to promote local destinations and hotels, will be highly successful in reviving the struggling sector.
Pang said he hopes residents will spend more money at local attractions after they collect the government’s HK$10,000 cash handouts in July.
Commerce Secretary Edward Yau said: “We want to reboot the economy in the second half of this year through new initiatives in tourism, external trade and trade insurance services.”
He said the government was now working on the possibility of so-called “travel bubbles” or corridors. These aim to link countries and regions as a quarantine-free travel zones. They allow residents to commute between them - free from quarantine rules. He said an online discussion on this issue would be conducted with the authorities in Thailand by the end of the month.
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In addition, exhibitions and trade shows - most of which have been cancelled or delayed in the first half of the year - will restart from July. The annual Hong Kong Book Fair will go ahead as scheduled between July 15 and 21.
Hong Kong Trade Development Council Peter Lam Kin-ngok said that the book fair would not run at full capacity; the number of people allowed to visit it would be restricted. He said the government will offer HK$100,000 in subsidies to each exhibitor to ease their cash flow problems. The total cost of this would be HK$40 million.
Ocean Park Hong Kong opened in 1977. It combines a theme park, oceanarium and also a marine mammal park. It is located in Wong Chuk Hang and Nam Long Shan in the city’s southern district.
Hong Kong Disneyland, which opened in 2005, was built on reclaimed land on Penny’s Bay, Lantau Island. It is the SAR’s largest theme park.
