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Exciting Encounters
Allan Zeman, who has overseen the redevelopment of Ocean
Park undertaken by the government, says the theme park
showcasing marine life and animals, will continue to tecite,
entertain and educate.
The moment Mickey was
preparing to build his kingdom on
Lantau Island in a joint-venture with
the Hong Kong Government, the
city's existing government-owned
theme park, Ocean Park, was facing
a new challenge, and an opportunity.
The decades-old marine-based theme
park, set up in 1977, appeared run
down and unappealing, compared
with Disneyland, which calls itself
"The Happiest Place on Earth''. Some
proposed the relocation of Ocean
Park from the rocky hillside to a flat
site for easier operation, while others
pressed for shutting its doors for
good.
By May 2002 a government
task force had been set up to oversee
redevelopment of Ocean Park and the
following year, a group formed under
the chairman of Ocean Park was asked
to oversee preparation of a detailed
proposal. In 2005, just months before
the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland,
the group submitted redevelopment
plans to the government, which
endorsed it in October.
To oversee the park's
redevelopment, the then-Chief Executive
Tung Chee-hwa reached out to
an entrepreneur. He had made an
unexpected phone call – actually six
calls – to ask a businessman who had
never set foot in Ocean Park before
to oversee the makeover. "I was
shocked to get the call," Allan Zeman
tells The PEAK. The German-born
entrepreneur is known as the "Father
of Lan Kwai Fong'', for transforming
the back alleys of Central into the
most prominent night life district in
Hong Kong 30 years ago. "I thought
he was out of his mind. I've only been
to one theme park in my life when I
was a kid in the United States. What
do I know about theme parks?"
Nevertheless, he went to take a
look at the park. "When I came for
the first time, the park was looking
very tired. The paint was peeling,
the pavement was falling apart, the
staff had a long face, and the food …
I'm from Lan Kwai Fong, so to me,
the food was just uneatable," recalls
Zeman. "But when I went on the cable
car, I was stunned. That's a billiondollar
view. You get the natural water
bay, mountain and vegetation, which
can never be duplicated on flatland, in
just eight minutes away from Central.
It's amazing."
Realising its potential, Zeman
took up Tung's invitation to be
chairman of Ocean Park. He was
appointed to the non-paid position
in July 2003, succeeding Philip Chen,
and was reappointed in 2004. In the
financial year 2002-03, the park had
reported a deficit of HK$4.1 million,
in the wake of the SARS epidemic.
In the previous financial year, it had
generated a HK$15.3m surplus.
But the 2002-03 period was
also marked by recognition such
as the Brass Ring Award from
the International Association of
Amusement Parks for the website
created for the Halloween Bash
2001. Hammerhead sharks had been
introduced drawing great public
interest, and the park held an exhibit
of Chinese alligators, Chinese giant
salamanders, and Chinese sucker fish.
More than HK$1 million was raised
at the Conservation Day for research
on Chinese white dolphins and finless
porpoises in Hong Kong as well
as dolphins from the Irrawady in
Myanmar, the Ganges in Bangladesh,
as well as Taiwan and Cambodia.
In 2002 - 03, the future
development of the park began in
earnest, to be undertaken in stages.
Af ter scouring for experts
from different corners of the world,
including Thomas Mehrmann as the
chief executive officer, a HK$5.55
billion master plan was unveiled in
2005, aiming to double the amount
of animals and ride attractions in six
years. "I believe the only chance this
park has for survival is to make it
world-class."
More attractions came on
stream and mainland visitor arrivals
to Hong Kong continued to surge.
The park's attendance and receipts
gradual ly improved. Annual
attendance reached 4.8 million in
2009, ranking 14th in the world and
fifth in Asia according to the latest
theme park attendance report by
Themed Entertainment Association,
along with AECOM Economics. The
park continued to break revenue
records while Disneyland struggled
with debts.
 |
| The 10-minute night
show Symbio features the
world's first 360-degree
water screen wuth fire and
theatrical effects. |
Still, the two theme parks were
distinctive yet complementary.
"Disney stands for fantasy,
cartoon, rides, castle. In the
end, it's about a mouse from the
United States. And Ocean Park
has been about wildlife education
and conservation for locals for
generations. There's a distinct
difference," says Zeman.
To bolster Ocean Park's
biodiversity, rare species including
red pandas, Asian small-clawed
otters, and Chinese sturgeon were
introduced. A stand-alone exhibit
with multimedia sound and visual
effects was created to house 1,000
sea jellies.
Zeman also lobbied for two
more giant pandas – a female named
Ying Ying and a male called Le Le
– to join An An and Jia Jia. "And
I keep my fingers crossed that the
pair will have a baby this year," he
gushes. An An and Jia Jia were a gift
from Beijing in 1998-99, when the
park reported an operating surplus
of HK$63.2 million, despite the
financial crisis of 1998.
The park is now perfecting the
habitat to welcome the honey bear
and a capybara, the largest living
rodent in the world, in the Rainforest
attraction opening in April. Penguins
will also return to the park's Polar
Adventure zone next year.
"Ocean Park has a good niche,
there's something for everyone. It has
animals for kids and elderly to learn
about environmental protection,
while it also has breathtaking rides
for the high-energy youth. The
Thrill Mountain we are opening
in November complements the
rugged hillside with state-of-the-art
amusement rides including a floorless
roller coaster. It's really exciting,"
says Zeman.
Yet, the crown jewel of the
park's redevelopment is no doubt the
Aqua City located prominently next
to the only entrance to the park.
When the flagship attraction opened
during the Lunar New Year holidays,
tickets sold out. The park was
literally full for three whole days.
And it was full for good reasons.
Aqua City's eye -
catching lagoon features
a 10-mintue nightly spectacular –
Symbio – which tells the importance
of conservation through a whimsical
tale illustrated by the world's first
360-degree water screen with fire
and theatrical effects. Its grand
aquarium, the ninth biggest in the
world by tank volume, is home
to 5,000-plus aquatic creatures
belonging to 400 species. Visitors
can watch manta rays, hammerhead
sharks and bluefin tuna through a
13-metre wide acrylic viewing panel
and the world's largest viewing dome
of 5.5m in diameter.
"The view is just unbelievable,
absolutely fascinating. And I've
always had this idea in my mind:
why can't we do a restaurant in the
aquarium so people can sit and eat
while watching the fish? So there
comes the Neptune restaurant,"
says Zeman. "It's a truly unique
experience that you can hardly find
in anywhere else in the world."
In efforts to make the theme
park pay for itself, Zeman has also
put in place ways to encourage
visitor spending on things such as
food and beverage. Leveraging on
insights gained from Lai Kwai Fong,
he introduced in-house food catering
with better quality food and wider
selections. "You can find anything
you want here, from hot dog, charsiu and wonton to seaside finedining,
truly Hong Kong style. We
also deliberately incorporated private
dining rooms in our restaurants
because we know how much the
locals like it," he adds.
 |
| Ocaen Park's newest attraction
showcasing hundreds of
species of fish is generating
waves of excitement among
visitors of all ages. |
Zeman believes adding what
locals value is a trump card for
Ocean Park in a region where
competition i s growing. After
opening the Universal Studio in
Singapore last year, the movie-based
theme park is building another one
in South Korea. Legoland Malaysia
is scheduled to open in 2013 while
Shanghai Disneyland Resort plans to
be operational by 2014. Furthermore,
in three to four years, Hong Konglisted
China Aerospace International
Holdings would have completed its
space theme park on Hainan Island
and Chimelong International Ocean
Resort its 20-billion-yuan marinebased
theme park Ocean Kingdom
with a night zoo, water world and
a dolphin-themed hotel in Hengqin
New Area, Zhuhai, right next to
Macau.
"But Ocean Park has something
really special. It has a generational
value. The kids that were taken to
the park by their parents are now
taking their kids here. It strikes a
deep chord in people's heart," says
Zeman, who plans to turn the area
right off the cable car station on
the summit into a memory lane of the old Hong Kong. "So when you
come off the cable car, you will be
like stepping into a movie set, back
to the 1950s or 60s. There'll be old
buildings, red postboxes, the Kai Tak
Airport, basically all of the iconic
constructions. It's important to
remember what makes Hong Kong
such a great place."
The park's annual sprees are
also highly anticipated, but so is
Zeman's participation, often in
costumes befitting the occasion.
He has put himself in the roles
of characters including Michael
Jackson, a prehistoric caveman,
a panda in a snorkelling suit, the
dragon king of the sea with a long
lush beard, and a Qing Dynasty
emperor holding a lizard, to generate
more publicity for the park. The one
time he appeared in a black suit, he
pretended to have slipped into the
pool, only to be rescued by a dolphin
and given a mouth-to-mouth by a
sea lion.
"It was a big hit when I dressed
up for the first time. And after
that, there was no turning back,"
says Zeman with a laugh. But the
favourite costume? "None. However,
all of them are better than a suit and
tie. I'm not the chairman of a bank.
The theme park is all about fun."
Zeman also reminds visitors of
the message of nature conversation.
"From time to time, some activists
accuse us of exploiting animals to
make profit. But Ocean Park is a
non-profit making institution. One
dollar from every admission, and 5
per cent of the revenue from selling
panda merchandise, go to the Ocean
Park Conservation Foundation for
ecological and behavioural research
on wildlife. So the more money we
get, the more we give back," he says.
"And I think it's essential to
have interactions with animals
to understand the impact of our
actions on the environment, like
global warming. I know myself. I
didn't know the first thing about
conservation. I didn't even know
what a dolphin looks like. But when
the park brought me close to the
animals, I really became conscious
of the notion. There are simple ways
to conserve nature, such as eating
seafood from sustainable sources.
These are the green messages we
are telling five million visitors ever
year."
The park's master redevelopment
plan is set for conclusion next year.
What does Zeman has in mind for
the park's next round of expansion?
"I don't know yet. There're too
many ideas in my head. I'm a
dreamer. But one thing is for certain.
I believe Ocean Park can jazz up the
city's international appeal and I will
make it happen."
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