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In the past, Hong Kong lured its fair share of visitors, who came mainly for the shopping. But while the workaholic city offers excellent food and special events like the annual Rugby Sevens tournament and international dragon-boat races, it is known primarily as a place for nose-to-the-grindstone accumulation of wealth (and conspicuous displays of it), not as a place for frolicking, with or without kids. Hong Kong lacks cosmopolitan diversions—the outdoor concerts, grand museums and banner cultural events that give larger cities like New York and Tokyo their leisure-time sparkle. (A government attempt to fill the void, at least partially, with a massive theater-and-art-museum complex in West Kowloon has been stymied by disagreements over how to allot the development rights.) Kwok Wah, a 27-year-old computer programmer, is a typical Hong Konger who says he spends many of his waking hours in his office pursuing the means to live the Good Life. On weekends, he finds very little of the Good Life is actually on offer. He usually watches movies or plays video games at home. "I wouldn't really say my life in Hong Kong is fun," he complains.
For the sake of its future, Hong Kong must loosen up. In recent years, many of the commercial advantages that made the city a rich trade-and-financial-services hub have become equally or more available in mainland China, where seaports and airports are developing at a frenetic pace to compete with Hong Kong's. At the same time, the territory's close ties to the mainland have helped the economy bounce back from the SARS crisis in 2003. Hong Kong's GDP grew 8.1% last year—the fastest rate in four years—thanks in part to a financial-sector boost from China-related deals and rising spending by visitors from the mainland.
Hong Kong is trying to build upon those gains—and that's where Mickey Mouse comes in. The territory's government has latched onto tourism to create jobs, elevate growth and, most of all, provide another outlet to tap into China's economic boom. "In order for us to prosper, we must bring value to China," says Henry Tang, Hong Kong's Financial Secretary. Disney expects the park to attract 5.6 million visitors in its first 12 months—at least a third of them from the mainland. The government estimates that Disney will directly and indirectly generate $19 billion in economic benefits over 40 years and 36,000 jobs over the next 20 years. Disney itself is hiring nearly 5,000 people to staff the park, almost all of them local. Disneyland will be "quite a significant factor in the Hong Kong economy," says Goldman Sachs economist Enoch Fung. "The Chinese consumer is on the rise, and Hong Kong is in pole position" to profit from such spending.
Already, the Disney effect is stimulating sympathetic development. Eighteen hotels are opening in Hong Kong this year, up from only two in 2004. The expansion is "nothing we've seen before," says James Lu, executive director of the Hong Kong Hotels Association. Hong Kong department store Sogo is opening a new outlet in Kowloon timed to Disney's launch, hoping to capitalize on a rush of shoppers. "We don't want to lose the opportunity," says Eliza Lo, Sogo's deputy general manager. Zeman, the Lan Kwai Fong developer, is planning a $700 million overhaul of Ocean Park, a government-owned amusement park on Hong Kong island. Three years ago, the administration considered shutting the park, figuring its tired thrill rides and aquariums couldn't compete with Disney's Space Mountain and Jungle River Cruise. But Zeman, Ocean Park's chairman, is taking a cue from the winning Disney-Sea World combination in places like Orlando, Florida. He wants to remake Ocean Park with killer-whale shows, exotic-bird exhibits and a pool where visitors can see sharks underwater from a protective cage. "Rather than seeing Disney as a threat, I look on it as a complement," says Zeman. Meanwhile, not far from Disneyland, on Lantau, one of Hong Kong's most famous attractions—a giant statue touted as the world's largest outdoor, seated, bronze Buddha—is being made more tourist-friendly. MTR, Hong Kong's subway operating company, is building a cable-car ride to the hilltop where the Buddha is situated. Tickets will cost $18.60 for a round-trip, which is called a "Journey of Enlightenment." The ride will end at a village with souvenir shops, the "Monkey's Tale Theatre" and an exhibition on the life of Buddha, complete with a man-made bodhi tree.
For sleepy, rural Lantau, that's just the beginning. The government and private investors are building a $300 million convention center, called the AsiaWorld-Expo, near the international airport. A government development plan for the island calls for the eventual arrival of resorts, sports facilities and another theme park—much to the chagrin of local environmentalists, who wish to preserve the island's natural charms. "Lantau is a national treasure," says Clive Noffke, a member of the executive committee of the Green Lantau Association, who favors an ecotourism approach. "We have the sun, we have the water, but we don't have the vision of government."
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