(5 December 2012, Hong Kong) Ocean Park today released its annual report for the 2011/12 fiscal year that ended on 30 June 2012, which saw the home-grown theme park celebrate its 35th anniversary by launching three new world-class themed areas and welcoming a new high of 7.1 million guests, a 20% increase over the previous year. Ocean Park’s eighth new attendance record in nine years also produced a series of new highs, including HK$505.4 million in EBITDA, a 49% increase over the previous year, and overall revenue of HK1.6 billion. Net surplus came in at HK$103.3 million. The unprecedented performance resulted in a record amount of donation for conservation and the highest ever level of benefit to the community through 13 social care programmes.
Dr. Allan Zeman, Chairman of Ocean Park, said, “With the launch of Thrill Mountain, Old Hong Kong, and The Hong Kong Jockey Club Sichuan Treasures, we were able to strengthen all three pillars of our offering – conservation, education and entertainment – while deepening our cultural relevance for the markets we serve. The response to all the new attractions we unveiled over the past two years was so strong that nearly every single month of the 2011/12 fiscal year set a new high for that calendar month. Further supporting our optimistic outlook was the new record number of annual pass subscriptions and significant increase in in-park revenue, including a 34% rise in revenue from food and beverage, giving us a more balanced business model going forward.”
Dr. Zeman added, “Besides being the 35th anniversary of Hong Kong People’s Park, 2011/12 held special significance because it took our Master Redevelopment Plan (MRP) to near completion. The eventual launch of Polar Adventure at the start of the 2012/13 fiscal year marked the conclusion of the single largest investment in Ocean Park’s history, which quadrupled the size of our staff. The redevelopment was so successful that we were able to break the 7 million attendance level a full ten years ahead of initial projections, underscoring our status as a key pillar of Hong Kong’s tourism industry. We are equally gratified by the tremendous number of local guests that visited us during the past fiscal year. Of particular note was the record number of local seniors who enjoyed our longstanding free admission offer to visit the newly launched Old Hong Kong for a nostalgic walk down memory lane.”
In addition to 145,834 local seniors, Ocean Park also treated 17,602 persons with disabilities and 176,314 birthday boys and girls to a free visit last year. The Park’s expanded birthday free entry offer for the 35th anniversary celebration also enabled 75,422 people accompanying friends to enter the Park at half price. In all, Ocean Park’s 13 social care programmes produced over 606,461 beneficiaries and a total value to the community equivalent to HK $143,468,427 – a 30% rise over the previous year and the highest ever in the Park’s history.
Not only has Ocean Park grown from a local marine zoological facility into a world-class theme park over the past 35 years, it has also become a leading funder of wildlife conservation among zoos and aquariums worldwide. In the 2011/12 fiscal year, the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, Hong Kong (OPCFHK) received a record amount of HK$10.92 million from Ocean Park, as well as over HK$1.3 million raised at a special Halloween Bash preview night hosted for OPCFHK in September 2011. During the same period, OPCFHK allocated HK$5 million to support 42 projects, involving 36 institutions worldwide, on 27 animal species across 10 countries. The Foundation also continued to work with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) on responding to reported cases of cetacean stranding and on managing local wild monkey population through contraception. The Park also supported the Development Bureau of the HKSAR government on Wolong rebuilding efforts by consulting on the design and construction of state-of-the-art research and care facilities for giant pandas. In April 2012, the Deputy Chief Executive of Ocean Park Mr. Matthias Li accompanied the Secretary for Development of HKSAR on a visit to Sichuan to review the progress of the rebuilding work.
Ocean Park has grown immensely as a public education asset over the past 35 years, not only through educational displays and guest programmes, but also by playing an increasingly important role in the local educational system through the work of Ocean Park Academy, Hong Kong (OPAHK).
During the 2011/2012 fiscal year, a record high of over 61,000 students ranging from kindergarten (age 3-5) to secondary 4-6 (age 15-17) took part in some 2,400 courses, delivered under 35 different programmes. This brought the total number of students that have benefited from Ocean Park’s courses to over 630,000 since such education programmes were first launched in 1992. In 2011/12, the Park increased its total investment in education by over 11%, compared to the previous financial year.
Dr. Zeman added, “On behalf of Ocean Park, I would like to thank our many guests from Mainland China and around the world, as well as the people of Hong Kong for their unwavering support over the past 35 years. Also deserving our heartfelt gratitude are the tour operators, our business and conservation partners, and our dedicated staff for helping us complete this truly memorable year.”
Dr. Zeman concluded, “The remarkable success of our MRP has brought Ocean Park and Hong Kong on-going international recognition, most recently as winner of the Applause Award, the most prestigious award in the amusement and theme park industry, and three brass ring awards at the IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) Expo. These achievements give the management team and the broader community tremendous confidence in our ability to create world-class attractions in Hong Kong People’s Park on time and on budget. Indeed, the re-tender of the hotel development projects is being finalised and the planning process for the year-round waterpark, entertainment and recreational development for the now-closed Tai Shue Wan area has also kicked into high gear. As we look forward to sharing more details of our future plans with the public, I encourage everyone to visit us and help us on our way to another 35 years of theme park excellence, conservation-based learning, and wonderful memories.”
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