With the Chinese mainland's first Disney theme park - Shanghai Disney Resort - due to throw open its doors in just about four months' time, Hong Kong Disneyland has been urged to go on the offensive.

The SAR's leading theme park, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, should launch its second-phase development as soon as possible to lure more tourists and meet the challenge from its mainland peer.

Gary Goddard, founder and chief executive of themed-entertainment design firm Goddard Group, said the time has come for Hong Kong Disneyland to get visitors to return to the park with brand-new attractions.

"I believe Hong Kong Disneyland must now add more than just a new ride or show. They must expand the park to become a true destination resort - and design and build a second gate (a second theme park)," he told China Daily.

The new attractions could be based on Disney's Pixar unit, Star Wars or even Avatar since the company already owns and controls these major franchises, said Goddard, who was hired by Walt Disney Imagineering as one of its youngest "imagineers" in the late 1970s.

According to Goddard, Shanghai Disneyland will be much larger with many more rides and shows, including Marvel superheroes, Tron and Star Wars.

He suggested that Hong Kong Disneyland could start by adding an entirely new park - something that would be exciting along the lines of what they are now doing with Avatar at Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park in Orlando, or with the new immersive Star Wars land now being planned for Disneyland in California.

Either way would be a good move, but by creating a brand-new theme park, Disney would give everyone a reason to return and stay in the hotels as it would be almost impossible to see both theme parks in one day.

Guan Mengying, 25, who hails from Zhejiang province and now works and lives in the SAR, is an ardent Disney fan, having bought Hong Kong Disneyland's annual pass "Silver Magic Access" for two consecutive years.

Hong Kong Disneyland, she agreed, should start its second-phase project to attract more tourists and compete with Shanghai Disneyland, which is said to offer attractions integrated with Chinese culture and even Chinese animations.

"When I visited Hong Kong Disneyland, I noticed that in some of its theaters, the actors and actresses speak only English and Cantonese. Although there are Chinese subtitles, it's still hard for Chinese mainland children to understand," said Guan, adding that Hong Kong Disneyland should use more Mandarin in its theater dialogues in future for the convenience of mainland visitors.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, which opened amid great fanfare in 2005, has recorded its first annual loss since 2011.

The company's latest financial report shows it slipped HK$148 million into the red for the fiscal year ending October 2015.

Total attendance fell to 6.8 million during the year - down 9.3 percent over the previous year - while the number of mainland visitors plunged 23 percent. Mainland visitors to the park currently make up just 41 percent of the total number, compared with about half at its peak.

Joseph Tung Yao-chung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, told China Daily that Hong Kong Disneyland's loss in its last financial year reflects the problems facing the local tourism industry.

"Bear in mind there're not that much people coming to Hong Kong just for Disneyland," he said, adding that if Disneyland aims for a turnaround, Hong Kong's tourism industry, as a whole, must sharpen its competitiveness and take a leaf from Japan.

"Japan hasn't launched any new attractions in the past 10 years, yet the number of tourists to the country has continued to grow because it's very clean, safe and, most importantly, Japanese people are very polite and treat tourists very well."

Tung stressed that what Hong Kong needs is to improve on how to treat visitors.

"Hong Kong people are very smart. Once they realize the importance of the tourism industry, they will be more polite and treat tourists better, and I'm confident more tourists will come to Hong Kong to enjoy the city."

A Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) spokesperson told China Daily it will work with the tourism sector to promote the SAR in mainland cities, as well as Taiwan, Southeast Asia and South Korea this year.

The HKTB will launch promotional tourism packages to get more families to travel to Hong Kong by waiving entrance fees for various attractions and accommodation costs for children.

sophiehe@chinadailyhk.com

Star Wars fans dressed as stormtroopers parade at Hong Kong Disneyland, Lantau Island. Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, which opened amid great fanfare in 2005, has recorded its first annual loss since 2011, according to its latest annual report. Roy Liu / China Daily

(HK Edition 02/19/2016 page9)