Ocean Park, Hong Kong could go out of business by the end of June if no financial assistance is forthcoming. The theme park is seeking approval from legislators for an urgent bailout of $696 million (HK$5.4 billion) with some $387 million (HK$3 billion) of that required to pay off a commercial loan. Leo Kung Lin-cheng, chairman of the park’s board of directors, said Ocean Park is barely a month away from bankruptcy.
The park has been closed since late January due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and visitor figures for the first quarter of 2020 show a decline of 81% from the same period a year earlier. The facility which opened in 1997 has been running at a deficit for years and steadily losing visitors. Housing thousands of animals, including bottlenose dolphins, when the park initially opened also on public display was a female orca, taken from the wild in Icelandic waters, who died at the park from an infected wound in 1997.
In early 2020, Ocean Park announced that it was to eventually end its controversial dolphin shows and as part of their redevelopment plan to transform into an integrated resort with 20 new attractions by 2027. They advised that the dolphins would be moved to another area for “underwater viewing opportunities” and no longer perform in shows but would continue being part of a programme allowing visitors get up close with the animals directly in the water.
We will update as soon as any news regarding the bailout is available later this week.
