香港迪士尼乐园计划投资14亿美元扩建

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.

为应对中国内地游客减少以及与内地规模大得多的竞争对手竞争，香港政府和华特迪士尼公司(Walt Disney Company)将向亏损的香港迪士尼乐园(Disneyland)投资14亿美元，以期新游乐设施能让乐园重现辉煌。

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.

香港迪士尼乐园已有11年历史，归香港政府和华特迪士尼公司双方所有。这两方在周二表示，计划在2018年至2023年间翻新迪士尼城堡，并基于漫威(Marvel)的超级英雄角色和卖座大片《冰雪奇缘》(Frozen)增加一系列新的主题园区。

“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.

香港政府在一份声明中表示：“扩建及发展计划……将提升乐园的竞争力，以及增加香港作为首选旅游目的地的吸引力。”香港政府持有该乐园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.

香港商务及经济发展局局长苏锦梁(Gregory So)表示，他希望此次投资将有助于“吸引更多高消费、过夜及不同市场旅客访港”，包括吸引东南亚旅客。

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，香港迪士尼乐园出现自2011年以来的首次年度亏损，游客数量下降9%，原因是香港与北京之间政治关系紧张导致内地游客不愿来这块半自治中国领土旅游。

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.

这种趋势依然在持续之中，在截至今年9月的一年里，来港旅游的内地游客人数同比下降9%，至3200万人。

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.

香港迪士尼乐园面临的挑战今年加剧——中国内地首家迪士尼乐园今年6月在上海开园，规模是香港迪士尼的3倍。

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

包括大连万达(Dalian Wanda)和长隆集团(Chimelong)在内的中国其他主题公园运营商也一直在迅速扩张，加剧了竞争。

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.

香港迪士尼乐园的新投资将由合资双方股东按股份比例出资，香港政府将不得不就其7.5亿美元的出资份额寻求爱挑刺的香港立法会予以批准。

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，扩建工程将创造3500个建筑岗位，而且在完工后还会增加600个全职职位。

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.

香港立法会反对派议员梁继昌(Kenneth Leung)表示，迪士尼乐园的设施已经“老化”，它需要吸引更多的青少年，而非只是儿童，因此漫威超级英雄主题园区可能有所帮助。

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”.

他说，香港政府的投资份额“并非不合理的资本支出金额”，但仅仅升级硬件“将达不到目的，除非香港迪士尼能够打造强大的国际形象”。

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.

香港旅行社协会(Hong Kong Association of Travel Agents)执委会成员胡景豪(Ronald Wu)表示，他希望扩建后的香港迪士尼乐园将增加香港的过夜游客数量。

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

他补充称，迪士尼公司将努力确保香港和上海的迪士尼乐园不会彼此拆台。

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

他说：“我相信华特迪士尼公司做了全面规划。它不会希望两家乐园直接竞争。”