Peter J.H. Lowe, Disneyland’s vice president for Hotel Operations, Food and Beverage and Business Solutions and Event Operations, said the presence of Universal Studio in Singapore is a challenge in a positive way.
“What is going on in Singapore is a great thing. The fact that they have convention facilities, a casino, Universal Studios and an F1 race is great for Southeast Asia. We see many large companies coming to the region, maybe from Australia or India, but they’re not always going back to Singapore everytime.
Once annual events become established, there is always need a degree of variety.”
Lowe said that Disneyland plans to open another theme park in Shanghai, China.
“ It is a wonderful opportunity,” he said, adding that China’s vast population would be an advantage.
“Our markets are different. We believe our market in Shanghai will be from, mostly, mainland China.
While in Hong Kong, it is more diverse. People come from local Hong Kong, Southeast Asia and the fastest growing market is actually India.”
Lowe said the construction of Disneyland Shanghai will only start next year and it will take another five year to complete.
He was upbeat that the presence of Hong Kong Disneyland would remain strong.
“Our advantage is the location. There is no other Disney park in the world that is right on the sea,” he said. Lowe also added that Hong Kong Disneyland has tried to embrace the Asian culture not only on providing Asian style Food and Beverages but also providing merchandise that is related to Asian culture.