Ocean Park Hong Kong acclaimed as world's top theme park

Hong Kong theme park Ocean Park has been recognised as the world's top theme park winning four awards, including the prestigious 'Applause Award', at the 2012 International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Brass Rings awards.
Held last week during the the IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando, Florida, Ocean Park Hong Kong receipt's of the Applause Award as well as more awards than any other attraction marks it as the world's top theme park.
The leading Hong Kong attraction was shortlisted this April as one of the three finalists by Sweden's Liseberg Amusement Park, organiser of the Applause Award, along with Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, USA and Puy du Fou in France.
In securing the award, the Park became its first-ever recipient from Asia and joins previous winners include Magic Kingdom Park at Disney World, Universal Studios in Florida, Epcot Center in USA, Knott's Berry Farm in USA, Busch Gardens in Williamsburg and Universal's Islands of Adventure in USA.
The Applause Award, presented every other year by an international jury of theme park and amusement industry professionals, "honours an amusement park whose management, operations and creative accomplishments have inspired the industry with their foresight, originality and sound business development."
In addition to the Applause Award, hand, Ocean Park is also delighted to have won in the categories of 'Digital Marketing', 'Best Overall Production (Budget of US$50,001 US$100,000) ' and 'Retail Visual Display (Over one million in attendance) ' in this year's IAAPA Brass Ring Awards.
Ocean Park Chairman Dr. Allan Zeman welcomed the global recognition, stating "it is a great honour for Ocean Park Hong Kong to be recognised by the Liseberg Board of Governors with the prestigious Applause Award and by the members of IAAPA for the definitive IAAPA Brass Ring Awards.
"The people of Hong Kong could take pride in the fact that Ocean Park is the first theme park in Asia to win this coveted Applause Award, which has made it the top theme park in the world. Fuelled by our innovative seasonal events, dedication to conservation and culturally relevant positioning, we have recorded historical-high attendance figures from the months of July to October this year, which encourages us to work even harder to provide exceptional theme park services, while staying true to our conservation, education, and entertainment pillars in connecting our guests to nature.
"Looking ahead, we are also planning to introduce three new hotels as well as an all-season water park and resort area to continue expand our range of offerings."
Ocean Park Chief Executive Tom Mehrmann added "we recognise the quality and values of the other institutions with whom we were judged and consider Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and Puy du Foe to be among the very best in the industry.
"I take great pride in the fact that Ocean Park, a homegrown theme park that belongs to the people of Hong Kong, is able to be recognised with the Applause Award in the international arena. We will uphold the values for which we were selected and evaluated, as we aspire to grow and continue to define the Park experience within the context of the industry, within Asia and within Hong Kong. I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to the Ocean Park staff for their tremendous dedication over all of the years, as we look forward to welcoming more guests to the Park in the future."
Commenting on presenting the Applause Award to Ocean Park, Andreas Andersen, President & Chief Executive of the Liseberg Group and Chairman of The Applause Award Board of Governors concluded "Ocean Park is one of the strongest parks in Asia, offering a high-value product with a unique base in the local community.
"Ocean Park has implemented a very courageous strategy, which has paid off with a doubling of attendance over the last few years, and a sou

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