HK Disneyland underestimates festival potential
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-02-05 08:30

Hong Kong Disneyland underestimated the market needs over the Chinese Lunar New Year, admitted the park's top executive Saturday, apologizing the third time for denying entry of visitors after sold-out in the holidays.

"This Chinese New Year...we have had record 'sell out' crowds," Bill Ernest, the park's executive vice president and managing director, told a press conference held here on Saturday.

Hundreds of tourists wait outside the iron gate in front of Hong Kong Disneyland February 2, 2006. Hundreds of tourists holding tickets gathered outside the theme park demanding for entry on Thursday after they were turned away as the theme park was full. [Reuters]

"Because of the high demand, we were not able to accommodate everyone who came to the park," said Ernest, who had apologized for the same situation through written statement twice over the previous two days.

On Wednesday and Thursday, hundreds of visitors with tickets were shut out of the park, which closed its gate soon after opening for reaching its maximum reception capability of around 30,000 people.

Most of the stranded visitors came far away such as cities in China's mainland to fulfill their Disney dreams. They planned the trip several weeks or months ago, booked half-year-valid tickets, which allow them to visit the park on any day in half a year since the purchase.

Being refused entry when the park was full, the tourists grew furious, waving their tickets, arguing with the park staff, and a few scaled up the grills for entrance.

The above images repeatedly broadcast by local cable TV were not "what Disneyland's reputation is built on," said Ernest, while extending apology to "those who have been inconvenienced."

Promising reimbursement to people who couldn't get into the park, he reiterated that they are the theme park's first Chinese New Year holidays which end on Saturday in the mainland.

"Every market has unique dynamics that must be taken into consideration and must be learned over time," said he, stressing that the influx of tourists over the Chinese New Year holidays was "unprecedented."

Four months ago, the 3 billion U.S. dollar theme park received a lower number of visitors than expected in the "golden week," the first week of October when Chinese on the mainland celebrating the National Day.

Visitors to the park during the Chinese New Year holidays, however, doubled that of those in the "golden week" and were much more than the expectation of the management, said Ernest.

"We've never seen anything like this before," said he, declining to give any specific number.

Aiming to earn 19 billion U.S. dollars over 40 years, Hong Kong Disneyland planned to draw 5.6 million visitors in the first year starting from last September. One third of the 5.6 million people are expected to come from China's mainland.

Some 12.5 million people from the mainland visited Hong Kong in last year, totaling almost half of all visitors to the city in the whole year, according to data by the city's immigration authorities.