Baby panda frenzy is Hong Kong’s big bet to get tourists back

HONG KONG – From harbour-front sculptures to posters to even a pyrotechnic drone show, Hong Kong is in a panda frenzy.

The city’s six pandas are front and centre in the government’s latest effort to boost its lacklustre tourism industry and revive an economy that is struggling to regain momentum.

This weekend’s public debut of twin six-month-old cubs at Ocean Park will serve as a litmus test, with hopes the bears will spark a viral moment similar to

Moo Deng. The pygmy hippo in Thailand

took social media by storm in 2024 and saw a flood of tourists visit her zoo.

The yet-to-be-named cubs are a “game changer” for Ocean Park, which has already seen a boost to visitation, said Mr Paulo Pong, chairman of the theme park where the city’s pandas reside.

“We’re hitting the pre-pandemic numbers again. So, it’s quite an encouraging sign that people are coming back to the park in full force.”

But the challenge will be converting a short-term lift into a sustained boost to tourism.

Hong Kong’s visitor numbers remain well below pre-Covid-19 highs after

large-scale protests in 2019

, strict pandemic measures and the imposition of a national security law dented the city’s appeal for international travellers.

Meanwhile, economic malaise is hurting spending by tourists from China, who make up the majority of visitors to the financial hub.

“The pandas will provide a temporary boost,” said Mr Carlos Casanova, senior Asia economist at Union Bancaire Privee.

“I don’t think that’s going to turn around the tourism story in Hong Kong. And I don’t think tourism alone, in the absence of a broader sort of strategy, is going to turn around the economy.”

About 45 million people visited Hong Kong in 2024, just shy of officials’ projection for 46 million, according to tourism board data.

While that is up 31 per cent from 2023, it is well down from the record 65 million visitors in 2018.

Hong Kong wants tourism to play a greater role in its economy. The government estimates its strategy will see the industry generate HK$120 billion (S$20.6 billion) in 2029, up from HK$75.3 billion in 2023. 

But efforts to entice visitors, ranging from free plane tickets to turning the city into a mega-events hub to a plea for residents to smile more, have largely fizzled. 

Retail sales fell for a 10th straight month in December. The same month, Hong Kong leader John Lee unexpectedly sacked his tourism chief, saying he needed ministers who “will be able to deliver what I have in mind”.

That is piling pressure on Hong Kong’s six pandas, the biggest population outside of mainland China. 

Ying Ying and Le Le were given to the city by Beijing in 2007 and, after more than a decade of mating attempts, Ying Ying gave birth to twins in August. 

At almost 19 years old – about 57 in human years – she became the world’s oldest first-time panda mother.

Her cubs, the first to be born in the city, are currently referred to as “Elder Sister” and “Younger Brother”. 

Ocean Park also welcomed five-year-old female Ke Ke and her male mate, An An – gifts from the Chinese government – in 2024.

Their public debut in December drew big crowds, which the park’s operators anticipate will be repeated with the new cubs this weekend. 

The 48-year-old theme park is Hong Kong’s largest, but despite reporting the most visitors in five years, it posted a HK$71.6 million deficit for the year ended June 30.

The pandas have been immortalised as animated characters and Ocean Park’s Mr Pong says the theme park could capitalise on the intellectual property by turning them into cartoon, movies and comic books.

“Having this IP will help the park generate revenue and steady income in the long run,” he said. 

So far, the pandas are proving good for business.

There was a 20 per cent increase in bookings for Ocean Park on Trip.com following the Jan 21 announcement of the panda cubs’ public debut, according to Mr Eddy Yip, territory manager for Hong Kong at the booking platform.

International visitors accounted for 75 per cent of the bookings, though reservations from locals increased 60 per cent, he said. 

Typically, more than half of Ocean Park’s guests are local and most international visitors come from China.

But the park has seen a growing number of visitors from South-east Asia and India who are willing to pay more for premium experiences, according to Mr Pong.

Ocean Park has already received requests for private sessions to see the pandas and is planning further premium offerings to cope with the demand, he said.

Pandas are found in south-western China and, according to the World Wide Fund For Nature, there are only just more than 1,800 left in the wild.

The animal is considered a national treasure, but has a decades-long history of being used as a diplomatic tool.

While Hong Kong received its pandas as gifts, other cities have spent big bucks to have the highly watchable black and white bears.

Washington, DC’s National Zoo, for instance, pays US$1 million (S$1.34 million) a year to the China Wildlife Conservation Association for a pair of bears.

Keeping them is an expensive exercise too. In November, a zoo in Finland returned its panda duo, eight years earlier than planned, after annual costs hit €1.5 million (S$2.11 million). BLOOMBERG