【明報專訊】HONG KONG DISNEYLAND has finally come out of the red after nine consecutive fiscal years of losses, setting record highs in both park attendance and revenue. The robust rebound in mainland and Southeast Asian visitors, the key to its performance improvement, reflects a sustained recovery of the city's tourism industry. Given the intense competition from other theme parks in the region, Hong Kong Disneyland must continue to innovate and enhance its attractions, ensuring recurring rather than one-off profitability.
Hong Kong is mired in public finance difficulties in the process of economic transformation. It is hard to get instant results from efforts to develop new industries. In the short term, tourism is somehow one of the traditional industries showing a relatively positive momentum. The Budget is set to be delivered today (26 February) and will reveal what measures the authorities can deploy to boost the tourism industry and the overall economy.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong Disneyland. It had been in the red for most fiscal years. The situation worsened during the three-year pandemic, with losses surpassing Ocean Park. Now that the pandemic is over, the theme park has finally made a turnaround in its performance. The financial results for the fiscal year 2024 released by the park yesterday (25 February) recorded a net profit of HK$838 million, its first profit in 10 years. The revenue grew by 54% year-on-year to HK$8.8 billion. Both figures represented record highs since its opening in 2005. The 7.7 million total attendance in the year was also the highest in its history.
To secure a Disneyland in Hong Kong, the agreement between the SAR government and the Walt Disney Company back then was obviously biased in favour of the interests of Walt Disney. Whether the theme park is in the black or in the red, royalties have to be paid to Walt Disney. As for the immense costs of daily operations, maintenance, amenity construction and so on, they are borne solely by Hong Kong Disneyland. The agreement has been criticised by many as an "unequal treaty", but Disneyland's presence still highlights Hong Kong's international city status. If the theme park can continue to run well without falling into deficit for years, it will likely gain wider recognition.
Of the total visitorship of Hong Kong Disneyland last fiscal year, 40% were local patrons, 38% were from the mainland, and the remaining 22% were from overseas. Non-local attendance surged by 108% year-on-year. The top five origins of overseas patrons were the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan and Singapore.
Theme parks are all over Hong Kong's neighbouring territories and the whole of East Asia, but for Southeast Asian travellers fond of Disney characters, Hong Kong remains the nearest option. In recent years, as many Southeast Asian economies are thriving, the middle-class population has grown. This has led to more outbound travel and consumption. The Hong Kong tourism industry should seize the opportunity to enter the Southeast Asian market.
The major turnaround of Hong Kong Disneyland is also an outcome of its own endeavours. On the one hand, the theme park has organised many festival-themed events to attract local patrons. On the other hand, it has renovated its hotels and other amenities, while opening the world's first Frozen-themed zone, World of Frozen, as an exclusive selling point to visitors. Furthermore, the theme park has introduced the most sought-after Disney characters in recent years and rolled out distinctive related intellectual property products and services to enhance its appeal and profit-generating capacity. The successful experience of its marketing strategy can serve as a reference to the "panda economy" model.
明報社評 2025.02.26：迪士尼樂園終轉虧為盈 香港旅業復蘇須增動力
香港迪士尼連蝕9個財政年度後，終於轉虧為盈，無論入場人次還是收入，均創下歷史新高，內地及東南亞等地旅客強勁反彈，成為樂園業績改善的關鍵，反映本港旅遊業持續復蘇。面對區內主題公園激烈競爭，迪士尼方面必須繼續努力推陳出新、加強賣點吸引旅客，確保盈利可持續，不會曇花一現。
香港經濟轉型，公共財政陷困，發展新產業難立竿見影，短期而言，旅遊業算是其中一個勢頭相對較好的傳統產業，《財政預算案》今天出爐，且看當局有何提振旅遊業以至整體經濟的措施。
今年是香港迪士尼開園20年，大多數年頭，樂園都處於虧損狀態，3年疫情下，樂園經營狀况更糟，虧損比海洋公園還嚴重。隨着疫情過去，樂園生意終於迎來轉機。根據園方昨天公布的2024年度業績，淨利潤8.38億港元，乃是10年來首度錄得盈利，收入按年增長54%至88億港元，兩者均是2005年開園以來最高；年度總入場人次，同樣創下歷史新高，達到770萬。
為了爭取樂園落戶香江，當年特區政府與華特迪士尼所達成的合作協議，明顯向華特迪士尼的利益傾斜，樂園不管賺蝕，都要向華特迪士尼交專利權費，至於日常營運、維修及興建設施等龐大開支，則由香港園方自行承擔。不少人都批評這是「不平等條約」，然而樂園的存在，始終有助突出香港作為國際化都市的形象。倘若樂園能夠好好經營下去，不用年年虧損，相信可以得到更多人認同。
樂園上年度總入場人次中，本地客佔40%，內地客佔38%，餘下22%是海外客，非本地客入場人次按年增長108%，五大境外訪客來源依次為菲律賓、台灣、泰國、日本和新加坡。
放眼香港周邊以至整個東亞，很多地方都有主題樂園，但對於鍾情迪士尼故事人物的東南亞旅客而言，香港仍是最近的選擇。近年東南亞多國經濟發展得不錯，中產人口增加，更多人願意外遊消費，本港旅遊業界應把握機遇，開拓當地市場。
香港迪士尼能夠轉虧為盈，亦有自身努力的因素。一方面，園方搞了不少節日主題活動，吸引本地客群；另一方面，園方亦翻新酒店等設施，又開設全球首個《魔雪奇緣》主題園區，作為獨家賣點吸客。另外，樂園引入近年炙手可熱的迪士尼玩偶，推出一系列有特色的相關IP（知識產權）產品及服務，亦有助提升吸客吸金的能力，營銷策略成功經驗，可供「熊貓經濟」借鑑。
/ Glossary生字 /
momentum：the ability to keep increasing or developing
recognition：public praise and reward for sb's work or actions
endeavour：an attempt to do sth, especially sth new or difficult