香港迪士尼樂園計劃投資14億美元擴建

Battling a decline in Chinese visitors and competing with much bigger rivals in mainland China, the Hong Kong government and the Walt Disney Company are pumping $1.4bn into the city’s lossmaking Disneyland theme park in a bet that new attractions can revive its fortunes.

爲應對中國內地遊客減少以及與內地規模大得多的競爭對手競爭，香港政府和華特迪士尼公司(Walt Disney Company)將向虧損的香港迪士尼樂園(Disneyland)投資14億美元，以期新遊樂設施能讓樂園重現輝煌。

The joint owners of the 11-year-old theme park said on Tuesday that they planned to revamp the Disney castle and add a range of new zones from 2018 to 2023 based around the Marvel super heroes and Frozen, the hit film.

香港迪士尼樂園已有11年曆史，歸香港政府和華特迪士尼公司雙方所有。這兩方在週二表示，計劃在2018年至2023年間翻新迪士尼城堡，並基於漫威(Marvel)的超級英雄角色和賣座大片《冰雪奇緣》(Frozen)增加一系列新的主題園區。

“The expansion and development plan will enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong Disneyland and the attractiveness of Hong Kong as a premier tourist destination,” the government, which owns 53 per cent of the park, said in a statement.

香港政府在一份聲明中表示：“擴建及發展計劃……將提升樂園的競爭力，以及增加香港作爲首選旅遊目的地的吸引力。”香港政府持有該樂園53%的股份。

Gregory So, Hong Kong’s commerce secretary, said he hoped the investment would help “attract more high-spending and overnight visitors from more diversified market sources” including Southeast Asia.

香港商務及經濟發展局局長蘇錦樑(Gregory So)表示，他希望此次投資將有助於“吸引更多高消費、過夜及不同市場旅客訪港”，包括吸引東南亞旅客。

Last year, Hong Kong Disneyland reported its first annual loss since 2011, with visitor numbers dropping 9 per cent as political tensions between Hong Kong and Beijing deterred mainland tourists from travelling to the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

去年，香港迪士尼樂園出現自2011年以來的首次年度虧損，遊客數量下降9%，原因是香港與北京之間政治關係緊張導致內地遊客不願來這塊半自治中國領土旅遊。

That trend has continued, with the number of mainland Chinese visiting Hong Kong falling 9 per cent to 32m in the year to September, compared with the same period a year earlier.

這種趨勢依然在持續之中，在截至今年9月的一年裏，來港旅遊的內地遊客人數同比下降9%，至3200萬人。

The challenges facing the Hong Kong theme park have intensified this year, with the opening of mainland China’s first Disneyland — which is three times bigger — in Shanghai in June.

香港迪士尼樂園面臨的挑戰今年加劇——中國內地首家迪士尼樂園今年6月在上海開園，規模是香港迪士尼的3倍。

Other theme park operators in China, including Dalian Wanda and Chimelong, have also been expanding rapidly, providing yet more competition.

包括大連萬達(Dalian Wanda)和長隆集團(Chimelong)在內的中國其他主題公園運營商也一直在迅速擴張，加劇了競爭。

The new investment at Hong Kong Disneyland will be funded proportionally by the joint venture partners, and the Hong Kong government will have to seek approval from the city’s querulous legislative council for its $750m share.

香港迪士尼樂園的新投資將由合資雙方股東按股份比例出資，香港政府將不得不就其7.5億美元的出資份額尋求愛挑刺的香港立法會予以批准。

The government said the expansion works would create 3,500 construction jobs with 600 full-time positions added at the revamped park once it is finished.

香港政府表示，擴建工程將創造3500個建築崗位，而且在完工後還會增加600個全職職位。

Kenneth Leung, an opposition member of the legislative council, said the facilities at the park were “ageing” and that it needs to attract more teenagers, rather than just young children, so the Marvel attractions might help.

香港立法會反對派議員樑繼昌(Kenneth Leung)表示，迪士尼樂園的設施已經“老化”，它需要吸引更多的青少年，而非只是兒童，因此漫威超級英雄主題園區可能有所幫助。

He said the government’s share of the investment was “not an unreasonable amount of capital expenditure” but that upgrading hardware alone “would not do the trick unless Hong Kong Disneyland can build up a strong international image”.

他說，香港政府的投資份額“並非不合理的資本支出金額”，但僅僅升級硬件“將達不到目的，除非香港迪士尼能夠打造強大的國際形象”。

Ronald Wu, a committee member from the Hong Kong Association of Travel Agents, said he hoped the expansion would increase overnight stays in the territory.

香港旅行社協會(Hong Kong Association of Travel Agents)執委會成員胡景豪(Ronald Wu)表示，他希望擴建後的香港迪士尼樂園將增加香港的過夜遊客數量。

He added that Disney would try to ensure that its parks in Hong Kong and Shanghai do not cannibalise each other.

他補充稱，迪士尼公司將努力確保香港和上海的迪士尼樂園不會彼此拆臺。

“I believe the Walt Disney Company has planned it out thoroughly,” he said. “It wouldn’t want direct competition between the two parks.”

他說：“我相信華特迪士尼公司做了全面規劃。它不會希望兩家樂園直接競爭。”