Visitors look at divers swimming in a giant aquarium at the Hong Kong Ocean Park, which had a 13 percent rise in visitors during the golden week in May. [Photo/Agencies]

Inflow of visitors from mainland lifts fortunes for operators of amusement sites

Some theme parks in Hong Kong received more visitors from the Chinese mainland during the Labor Day holiday, even as the total number of mainland tourists to Hong Kong dropped.

"Thanks to the mainland visitors, Ocean Park still had a 13 percent rise in visitors during the golden week in May," said Tom Mehrmann, chief executive of Ocean Park Corp.

Mehrmann said theme parks in Hong Kong did not experience any adverse effect from the recent decline in mainland visitors.

However, competitor Hong Kong Disneyland Park declined to comment on visitor numbers.

The fast increase of mainland visitors to Hong Kong in the past 10 years has brought a huge number of tourists to the city's theme parks.

"The (theme park) market is growing and it is 100 percent related to mainland visitors' growth," said Mehrmann.

To attract more mainland travelers, Ocean Park launched several special discounts for cardholders of Bank of China Ltd and passengers of Air China Ltd this summer.

Grim reality sets in for Hong Kong retailers	Top 10 favorite luxury brands of Chinese women