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Will the 4-times-larger Shanghai Disneyland harm Hong Kong’s tourism?
After long negotiation, the Walt Disney Company finally announced that the Shanghai Disneyland project is confirmed and is planned for opening in 2014. The park will occupy 6sq km, which is around 4.7 times of the Hong Kong’s Disneyland (Zhang, 2007). The project has stirred up a lot of opinions and controversies from different sectors that the Shanghai Disneyland would pose a devastating threat to Hong Kong’s tourism. People were concerned that it would greatly reduce the market for Hong Kong’s Disneyland and at the same time reducing the attractiveness of Hong Kong as a tourist spot. In fact, with Hong Kong having unique selling points, the two parks aiming at different target markets and that an expansion project of Hong Kong Disneyland is underway, Hong Kong will be able to withstand the challenges posed by Shanghai Disneyland.
First of all, Hong Kong has her own distinguishing marketable features that make it unique from Shanghai. It is commonly said that Hong Kong is the confluence of the Chinese and Western culture where conventional Chinese traditions have been kept as well as modern ideas being integrated into the society. Being entitled as the ‘Shopping and Dining Paradise’, Hong Kong provides tourists with superior shopping and dining experience. Although various worldwide brands have entered the Shanghai market recently, the high sales tax rate in the mainland has weakened shoppers’ interest. In Hong Kong, there are not only soaring skyscrapers and gorgeous malls that are attractive to tourists, but also a lot of long-established villages and temples where traditions and rituals have been carefully preserved. Tourists can enjoy splendid shopping and dining sprees as well as enlightening tours to the worth-visiting scenic spots together in one trip. These features of Hong Kong help to retain her competitiveness compared to Shanghai.
Addressing the important...