By FENG WEI

September 12 saw the Grand Opening of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. As many as 16,000 visitors, all dying to get close to Mickey Mouse, flocked to Disneyland on that day, most of them from the Chinese mainland. A Shanghai lady named Wang forked out almost 1,000 RMB to get three tickets for her family, and arrived at the Disneyland gates long before they opened. “My husband and I are both huge Disney fans, and have read Disney books and watched Disney videos since we were children,” says Wang. “My pre-school daughter is exactly the same. We are all thrilled at the prospect of seeing Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, and at experiencing Disneyland for ourselves.”

Since Disney established its first overseas theme park in Tokyo in 1983, Asian visitors have brought the company huge profits. The continent’s ever-increasing economic clout and consumption capacity, particularly in China, makes the region a hugely tempting market. Robert A. Iger, Walt Disney Company President, and Chief Executive Officer stated, at a conference earlier this year that Disney should enter the Chinese market on a bigger scale and at a faster rate. Hong Kong, China’s most energetic and cosmopolitan metropolis, could attract large numbers of visitors not only from the Chinese mainland, but also elsewhere in Southeast Asia. It therefore made strategic sense for the company to open its first park in China, and tempt the whole region’s burgeoning middle class to walk through the theme park’s gates.

Disney to Help Drive Hong Kong’s Economic Development

There is little doubt that Disney’s presence will result in huge economic benefits for the Special Administrative Region, that are not limited to just ticket sales. Henny Tang, Financial Secretary of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, has been quoted as saying that the park could generate some US $19 billion in revenue over 40 years. Such a figure undoubtedly makes the investment in building the park (US $3.5 billion) worthwhile.

The park is expected to boost tourism and consumer spending, two drivers of the local economy. In its first year alone, Disneyland Hong Kong expects some 5.6 million visitors, one-third of them from the Chinese mainland, and one million first-time visitors to Hong Kong. Projected visitor numbers are even rosier; 10 million a year are expected to visit the park by its fifteenth year of operation.

Local retailers stand to be the biggest beneficiaries. Wandering the streets of Hong Kong, whether in the Harbor City shopping mall in Tsimshatsui or along Queen’s Road, Mickey Mouse smiles at you. And the scope of Disney merchandise is vast. Shelves full of toys, handbags, notebooks, mobile phone accessories are constantly being replenished. Many businesspeople regard Disney as the most powerful force to impact upon Hong Kong retailing in recent times. Retail markets there are expected to soar by 10 percent in the fourth quarter of this year as a direct result of the “Disney domino effect.”

Moreover, Hong Kong’s current employment status owes a lot to the Disneyland opening. The Hong Kong SAR government reckons that the opening will create 18,000 jobs, and that after completion of the first phase extension this figure will increase to 36,000, pushing down the unemployment rate to decline from 5.7% to 4.9%. Investment house CLSA forecasts that the benefits in terms of tourism and extra spending will help Hong Kong’s economy grow by 7 percent this year, making it one of Asia’s best performers.

The Chinese mainland will also reap Disney benefits, particularly around the Pearl River Delta, not least because most of the more than 5,000 kinds of souvenirs on offer at the park will be “Made in China.” Moreover, Disneyland will attract more and more foreign tourists, particularly Asians, to Hong Kong, and tandem tours to Guangdong Province and Hong Kong are certain to become more popular. An official with the Guangdong Tourism Association points out that if just 40 percent of the international Disneyland visitors were to “drop in on” Guangdong, and spend just RMB 1,000 per person, Guangdong’s tourism revenue would be boosted by an extra of RMB 800 million annually.