Ocean Park has decided to launch a mobile phone app to help queue-jumpers in a bid to reverse the drop in visitors.
The app, to be launched next month, will allow registered visitors to get to rides ahead of the queue at specific times.
The park had earlier announced a 14 percent decline in visitor numbers from last year, but chairman Leo Kung Lin- cheng said the decrease may not be all negative.
“Queues could be shorter when there are fewer people," he said. “The return rate of these visitors who enjoyed a more spacious and comfortable park experience could be higher.
“In-park spending of our visitors has actually increased by 10 percent despite the drop in numbers."
The Ocean Park app also aims to diversify crowds as it will assign time slots for visitors who signed up before their visit so they can enter certain attractions without queuing up.
The park offers a fast-track ticket that is HK$150 more expensive than the HK$385 adult ticket. A park spokeswoman said the fast track would still be better for visitors as the app-users will not be allowed to choose a time that suits their own schedule.
Deputy chief executive Matthias Li Shing-chung said the most popular attractions will be covered in the app though he did not identify these.
The new app will also provide a virtual guided tour of animal exhibits by providing more information and photos as well as e-coupons to be used inside the park with the full-park wi-fi coverage kicking in within a month.
Park chief executive Tom Mehrmann said there will be discounted entry ticket prices and food discounts also coming up next month as a first wave of discounts this year.
“Although the increase of in-park spending will be helpful in raising the park’s revenue, the profit of the park still splits at a constant 65 and 35 percent between gate tickets and in-park spending," he said.
“We still need to work on getting our mainland visitors back."
The park has also worked on conservation measures, including a population survey and restoration of habitats for the endangered green turtle and the critically endangered blue-crowned laughing thrush.
The number of birds, 300 of which live in Jiangxi province, was raised from 11 to 19 after a breeding program in the park last year.
The golden snub-nosed monkey Hu Hu, which died unexpectedly earlier this month, is one of the 10 types of animals that Ocean Park tries to save from extinction.
Another animal facing extinction that resides in the park, female panda Ying Ying who lost her baby cub in October, will not be sent to the national breeding program in Sichuan this year.