Hong Kong Disneyland | Discover More...

Hong Kong Disneyland's magic inspires Taiwan travel agents

Mickey, Minnie and friends arrive in Taipei on a multi-city publicity push

TAIPEI (August 10, 2004) - In the latest stop on its multi-city tour, Hong Kong Disneyland's marketing and sales team hosted a fun-filled evening entitled "Discover the Magic of Hong Kong Disneyland" for around 250 travel agents in Taipei. The tour is part of Hong Kong Disneyland's pre-launch marketing and sales drive, and targets travel agents in key markets for the family entertainment giant. Hong Kong Disneyland anticipates that Taiwan will be a very important market for the theme park.

Taiwan is a mere 80-minute flight from Hong Kong and, in 2002, nearly 2.5 million Taiwanese visited the city, accounting for a third of all outbound Taiwanese travelers and making Taiwan Hong Kong's second-biggest source of visitors.* The travel trade is expected to generate over 40% of Hong Kong Disneyland's first-year attendance. The multi-city tour, which began in Singapore and will cover Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai and other key cities, is part of an integrated series of marketing activities targeting the travel trade.

"Taiwan, with its proximity to Hong Kong and numerous outbound tourists, is of key strategic importance to our theme park," commented Roy Tan Hardy, Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Hong Kong Disneyland. "We really enjoyed the opportunity to exchange views with our friends in the travel trade here. As we have found elsewhere in the region, they seemed excited by our commitment to establishing a mutually rewarding basis of working together."

"Only a quarter of all Taiwanese visitors to Hong Kong stay overnight. Most are in transit to other destinations in the region," added Roy Tan Hardy. "We believe that, with the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland, visitors from Taiwan will be encouraged to stay longer in Hong Kong, to experience the magic of our theme park and of our city. We also believe that we can support the Hong Kong Tourism Board, which has done great work in implementing measures like the iPermit electronic visa system and in its ongoing promotions targeting the young professional, family and meetings and incentives segments, also key markets for us."

During the evening, Hong Kong Disneyland executives mingled with local travel agents, discussing the mutual benefits of partnership. The magical evening was capped by a dazzling taste of what will make Hong Kong Disneyland so special - its unique and creative storytelling -- in a performance by Mickey Mouse himself, along with Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale and performers from Disney's Live Entertainment Group. The crowd was clearly enthralled with the magic of the moment, as flashbulbs popped and many of the travel agents, already sporting unique lanyards featuring Disney character themed pins, eagerly took the opportunity to shake hands and share a personal picture with the highly popular Disney characters.

"Many travel agents that we've met in Taiwan, and elsewhere in the region, are very excited about the new draw we will add to Hong Kong as a family destination," said Josephine Lam, Director of Marketing Services for Hong Kong Disneyland, who also is responsible for Travel Industry Marketing. "However, not all of them are fully aware of the uniqueness of the experience that Hong Kong Disneyland will provide to both kids and adults alike. The evening was great because it gave our friends in the trade a chance to appreciate all over again why our Park is the Happiest Place on Earth."

Hong Kong Disneyland will transport guests into a world of fantasy, imagination and adventure. The Park features Main Street U.S.A., three themed lands - Adventureland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland -- and two themed hotels. The Victorian-themed Disneyland Hotel will open with 400 rooms, a convention center, wedding venues and a full-service spa. The moderate-priced Hollywood Hotel will open with 600 rooms and will feature a deco style right out of the 30s and 40s in Hollywood. The Park itself presents meeting organizers with a unique opportunity for large themed gatherings for groups of 10,000 or more guests, which could put Hong Kong back on the large-scale meetings and incentives map.

Hong Kong Disneyland aims to become the number one tourist attraction in the region and a top family vacation destination. It is located at the doorstep of one of the fastest growing tourism regions in the world, is very optimistic about the medium and long-term prognosis for travel and tourism in the Asia and is committed to partnering with the trade to contribute to the continued growth of travel and tourism in Asia, especially in the family segment.

*Source: Tourism Bureau, Rep. of China.

About Hong Kong Disneyland
The Hong Kong Disneyland project was announced in November 1999 as a venture between The Walt Disney Company and the Hong Kong SAR Government. With the completion of reclamation for Hong Kong Disneyland Phase I by the Hong Kong SAR Government, Disney began construction in January 2003 with the project scheduled to open in late 2005/ early 2006. The opening day program for Hong Kong Disneyland will include a Disneyland-style theme park and two hotels. The Phase I build-out includes a projected 10 million annual visitor Disneyland-style theme park, 2,100 hotel rooms, and an area for retail, dining and entertainment. The project is estimated to create 18,000 new jobs at opening (both Disney and other employment) growing to 36,000 once the first park reaches build-out. The Hong Kong SAR Government estimated that the first phase of the project will generate a present economic value of HK$148 billion (US$19 billion) in benefits to Hong Kong over a 40-year period.