HONG KONG (AFP) — Hong Kong Disneyland could be given a government bailout as it struggles to attract more visitors, a senior minister was reported Tuesday as saying.
Frederick Ma, secretary for commerce and economic development, said the government is considering investing more cash into the theme park to help it expand, according to the Standard newspaper.
"I don't want to hear visitors saying they are seeing the same things they saw last year and lose interest in Disneyland," Ma said, according to the English-language daily.
In the past, the government has ruled out adding to the 25 billion Hong Kong dollars (3.2 billion US) it has already invested, the report said.
Ma did not say how much cash the attraction, which is 57 percent-owned by the government, could receive.
He said he recognised that visitors had complained that "Disneyland is small," one of the reasons why it has failed to draw in visitors, the report said.
The theme park attracted around 5.2 million visitors in its first year, but reports have suggested it struggled to reach 4.0 million visitors in its second, well below capacity of 34,000 a day.
Disney said earlier this year it may require alternative financing to complete its second-phase expansion.
A spokeswoman for Disney said discussions with shareholders about how to grow the resort were ongoing.
"The discussion is a complex one and will inevitably touch on financing and other relevant arrangements," she said, adding it would be premature to discuss the details and that Disney was fully committed to the theme park.
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