Ocean Park breaks annual attendance record for eigth time in nine years

Hong Kong theme park Ocean Park has this week broke its annual attendance record by reaching the six million level for the first time in its 35-year history, marking the eighth time in the past nine years that a new attendance record will be set when the fiscal year ends at the end of June.

This year's momentum was so strong that the old record was broken with an unprecedented nine weeks left in the current fiscal year.

With the recent launch of Old Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Sichuan Treasures, Ocean Park has seen a 25% increase in local guests and a 15% increase in guests from outside Hong Kong.

To recognise the community for its loyal support, Ocean Park will allocate HK$6 million to Ocean Park Academy, Hong Kong (OPAHK) in support of its diverse educational programs for local students to nurture the younger generation of conservation advocates.

Ocean Park Chairman Dr. Allan Zeman stated "our popularity during this year has once again shown Ocean Park to be the region's premier family edutainment and travel destination. During the first ten months of this fiscal year, every completed month was a record-breaking month.

"The recently opened Old Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Sichuan Treasures, which showcased our commitment to offering an immersive combination of conservation, education and entertainment for families, are particularly popular. We also take delight in the fact that local families are visiting the Park to help us celebrate our 35th anniversary, as over 35,000 local guests have already taken advantage of our various 35th anniversary promotions.

"In acknowledgement of the importance of conservation education for our ongoing success, Ocean Park is allocating HK$6 million to OPAHK in support of its educational programmes over a period of three years. And to express our gratitude for the loyal support of the community, we are offering free behind-the-scenes tours for the first time to help local families who come to the park to celebrate the upcoming Mother's Day. As just one option, local guests can enjoy the Rainforest Ed-venture for an up-close encounter with our lovely marmoset family."

Ocean Park's Executive Director of Zoological Operations and Education Suzanne Gendron, who received the allocation on behalf of OPAHK, added "Ocean Park was founded on the principle of education and this allocation towards education will be used to strengthen the educational content and appeal of exhibits through research into conservation issues and surveys of various key audience segments. This will help us better influence the public in changing their behaviour to support the conservation of wildlife and habitats."

Hong Kong Tourism Commissioner Philip Yung joined Dr. Zeman in welcoming this year's six millionth guest stating "visiting Ocean Park has long been a part of our family tradition. It is triply meaningful to bring my parents-in-law to visit Old Hong Kong to immerse themselves in the golden period of Hong Kong between the 1950s and 1970s, introduce the younger generation to the wonderful world of conservation and help Ocean Park set a new attendance record at the same time. We look forward to making more wonderful memories at Ocean Park year after year."

For more information go to www.oceanpark.com.hk