Hong Kong wants Disney to bail out struggling park

Hong Kong - Seventy per cent of Hong Kong residents believe that the city's troubled Disneyland theme park should expand to draw more visitors, a survey found Monday. However, the same percentage believe that Disney and not the Hong Kong government should pay for the expansion of the park, which has had disappointing visitor numbers. The survey by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University comes after the theme park had only about 4 million visitors in its second year, down from a below-target 5.2 million in its first year of operations. In December, a Hong Kong senior government official publicly criticized the two-year-old theme park, which cost 3.5 billion US dollars, saying its performance was 'not satisfactory.' Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Frederick Ma told legislators the government wanted to see urgent improvements at the park, which was largely funded by public money. Disneyland has refused to release attendance figures for the 120-hectare park, citing commercial secrecy, but has admitted to falling short of financing targets. The Hong Kong park, the first Disney theme park in China, has been criticized for being too expensive and for being short on attractions compared to sister parks in Paris, Tokyo and the United States. © 2008 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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