STP PLAN &
STRATEGY ANALYSIS
COMM 296 SEC 106
November 3 2015
TEAM #24
Lisa Y. Mah (50708149), Jennifer Zhang (14745146), Darren Tong (36345149), Apple Fong (15155147)
DISNEY PARKS & RESORTS | TEAM 24
PART A. SEGMENTATION
The objective of HKDPR’s marketing strategy is to attract a larger number of customers to generate
higher revenues from Hong Kong Disneyland as well as from the Disney resorts. We used various
segmentation variables to compare and distinguish three different segments: international tourists,
Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong locals. HKDPR primarily appeals to families with young children in
general, and the prices for park features and accommodation are most suitable for those with moderate-tohigh incomes.
Existing Consumer Segment 1: Mainland Chinese
Tourists coming from Mainland China have the convenience of location to consider when picking Hong
Kong as a vacation destination, due to being a neighboring region. China’s overall population is nearly
1.4 billion people, making China the most populated nation throughout the world (CIA – The World
Factbook, n.d.). HKDPR’s yearly attendance also comprises of 42 per cent of mainland Chinese citizens
as well (“The Disneyland Report”, n.d.). The purchasing power of most Mainland Chinese tourists
remains high, with estimates of tourists spending roughly “229 billion abroad in 2015” (Burkitt, 2015).
However, visits to the park may be short if HK Disneyland is part of a larger Hong Kong tour, and
Chinese citizens may be inclined to visit Disneyland for the experience and memories rather than engage
themselves in heavy souvenir shopping (Fung, 2013. p.50).
Existing Consumer Segment 2: International Tourists
International tourists, which mainly consists of family groups coming from Southeast Asian countries or
Western countries, choose to visit Hong Kong to gain the dynamic and vibrant cultural experiences Hong
Kong and its industries offer. Coming overseas, these customers are willing to stay at the Disney resorts
for several days to maximize their experience in HKDPR (Lau, 2013). For tourists coming abroad in
pursuit of social and active lifestyle, HKDPR provides the ideal vacation destination for families and
groups of friends (Chan, 2011).
Existing Consumer Segment 3: Local Customers
Local customers who reside in Hong Kong are able to conveniently go to HKDPR by car or through
public transportation due to proximity. The ticket prices are suitable for moderate-high income families
that earn 23,500HKD per month, the median income for Hong Kong citizens, or more (The Facts, 2015).
Workaholics are abundant in Hong Kong, meaning less time may be directed at family bonding and
leisure in general, which inhibits locals from coming to HKDPR (Ma, n.d.). However, locals might also
be the most willing to buy annual passes to the park due to the sheer convenience of location.
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PART B. TARGETING
Among the three worthwhile customer segments, we chose Mainland Chinese tourists as the target market
for the business of HKDPR due to their existing segment attractiveness, and potential for growth.
Mainland China’s population has almost reached 1.4 billion citizens as of 2015, and in HKDPR the
attendance was comprised of 42% Mainland Chinese tourists in 2014 making them the most substantial
segment of HKDPR (CIA – The World Factbook, n.d.; “The Disneyland Report”, n.d.). With a high
purchasing power, Mainland Chinese tourists are identifiable by their heavy spending during trips to
Hong Kong, which makes them potentially a very profitable group for HKDPR as well (Chan, 2008). In
addition, mainland Chinese tourists may spend a considerable amount of money for souvenirs to bring
back as gifts for relatives and friends to bolster relationships (Upton-McLaughlin, 2013). However, this
may not apply to all mainland Chinese tourists due to a preference to keeping a memory of their trip with
photos as opposed to spending money on souvenirs in the park (Fung, 2013. p.50).
HKDPR has the advantage of being located in a neighboring region which makes it easier for HKDPR to
keep close contact with Chinese customers in communicating the values of the products and services they
offer. The segment is highly reachable through social media, such as WeChat, QQ and Weibo, which are
easily assessable to the Chinese population. Travel agencies, such as “Ctrip”, are another substantial
channel through which Chinese consumers learn about the promotions and packaging deals HKDPR
offers. Mainland Chinese tourists are willing to pay for the tickets for the entry into the park, as well as
souvenirs and food in Disneyland. However, they often look for better deals outside of Disneyland when
it comes to finding an accommodation, especially in the case of short general visits to Hong Kong.
PART C. POSITIONING
To Mainland Chinese customers, Hong Kong Disney Park and Resort is the premier destination for
numerous family friendly rides, shows and accommodation options. HKDPR features all your favorite
Disney characters to create a fun, magical and memorable theme park experience.
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PART D. STRATEGY ANALYSIS
PRODUCT - HKDPR’s main products are the services provided within the Disneyland theme park and
the two hotels within the resort area, with restaurants and various shops for Disney merchandise within
both as well. The Disneyland theme park aims to “create magical memories for our guests, cast and
community” with a simple admission ticket fee for either a one-day ticket, two-day ticket, or annual pass
to experience all the various attractions available (“About HKDR”, n.d.). The various tickets and passes,
along with various vacation packages as well depending on duration and reason for stay, which often
varies with Mainland Chinese visitors. Within the park there are various themed lands featuring
attractions, such as parades, character meet-and-greet, fireworks show, rides, and shows with characters
from various Disney films. Throughout the different areas of the park, there are a total of 16 stores, where
guests can buy various Disney gift items and souvenirs. Food services are also abundant in the park in the
form of restaurants and refreshment vendors. Some of HKDPR’s food services apply aspects of Mainland
Chinese culture to appeal to the Mainland Chinese visitors. Hong Kong Disneyland is thus filled with a
myriad of park and hotel services, as well as food and souvenirs stores to effectively cater to the needs of
various guests, including Mainland Chinese tourists, to ensure a fun and memorable experience.
Within the resort area, there are two hotels: Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel and Disney’s Hollywood Hotel.
Each hotel features unique restaurants with some applying Chinese cultural aspects, beautiful surrounding
environments, and other various facilities. Each hotel also offers free Wi-Fi, and constant programs
showing on the room TVs to keep guests entertained. Couples are also able to opt for a “Disney Fairy
Tale Wedding” package at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel which includes options such as wedding
photography, a venue, and a banquet. HKDPR is able to create a comfortable accommodation option for
customers to consider.
PRICE - The prices of HKDPR’s tickets and hotels are relatively high in comparison to competitors such
as Ocean Park (Tickets & Reservations | Ocean Park Hong Kong, n.d.), and Mainland Chinese tourists
may prefer to find deals through websites or travel agencies. The high price of tickets and hotel rooms
could dissuade the Mainland Chinese segment, even though they have high purchasing power, since they
mostly travel to Hong Kong for shopping purposes rather than leisurely activities (“The luxury habits of
Chinese People”, 2015). Tickets normally cost 499 HKD for general admissions with various methods of
price discrimination for other ages such as elderly people, and hotel rooms range from 1800 HKD and up
per night (Park Tickets, n.d.) There are, however, bundling deals and discount membership for hotel
rooms and tickets; despite the deals and membership, the Mainland Chinese visitors oftentimes only stay
in the park for short durations and not even consider staying at the hotel, so the allure of the deals may be
less effective on them. For food, the price range is generally expensive (“Review of Hong Kong
Disneyland Hotel, Hong Kong”, 2011). The Mainland Chinese are mainly a short-staying group, so the
price of food is not a big concern for them when it comes to purchasing the necessity. Disneyland
souvenirs are also moderately-to-high priced, and Mainland Chinese visitors are less willing to spend on
purchasing souvenirs for themselves although they may spend money on gifts for others (Lockett, 2015).
PLACE - Hong Kong Disneyland and its Resort were built on Lantau Island in 2005. The Hong Kong
Government decided to build on Lantau Island due to the cultural belief in Feng Shui (“The History of
Hong Kong Disneyland”, 2014). Although Hong Kong Disneyland is not located in the downtown area,
the transportation to HKDPR is convenient due to the Disney Resort Line on the MTR. Also, HKDPR is
located near the Hong Kong International Airport, which benefits Mainland Chinese tourists who travel
by plane but at the same time, might not benefit those who live in the southern provinces of Mainland
China, since most of them travel to Hong Kong by train. Within the park, there are different restaurants
with different dishes and refreshment vendors conveniently located in every themed land, fulfilling
customer needs wherever they are. Merchandise stores are also located everywhere around the park, and
the exit of attractions often leads into the stores. This allows park visitors to easily purchase merchandise
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after experiencing the rides. Main Street USA also contains a vast number of stores near the entrance of
the park, which easily allows shopping to be done at once before leaving. For those who seek
accommodation at HKDPR, the two Disneyland hotels are close to the park, as visitors can travel back
and forth by shuttle bus. Convenience, is thus a big aspect of visitors’ including Mainland Chinese
tourists’ stays, and HKDPR applies various methods to fulfill this requirement.
PROMOTION - Currently, HKDPR relies heavily on the global reputation Walt Disney Co. holds in
terms of reaching out to the customers in Mainland China without having much variety in the channels for
promotion. The use of social media and website development has been minimal and often redundant,
lacking information and a user-friendly system. HKDPR does broadcast TV advertisements and
constantly updates its Facebook page, YouTube channel with roughly 13,500 subscribers, and the official
Disney Parks blog run heavily by social media managers and directors. However, under the Chinese
government's strict censorship, much of the information from these platforms are unavailable to the
Mainland Chinese. HKDPR has been doing well in terms of being timely in promoting its newly featured
festivals or deals before holidays and vacation seasons knowing that there is a big seasonality in the
tourism industry.
EVALUATION:
HKDPR has successfully portrayed the image of the Walt Disney Co. while providing guests with several
entertainment and accommodation options. HKDPR has a defined product, in which the company aims to
provide exceptional service through a magical experience, as well as various tangible goods to take home
or eat during the trip. Disney movies are often associated with magic and fantasy, which when applied to
the hotel and the attractions in the park, allow a magical and memorable experience for visitors of all
kinds, including Mainland Chinese visitors, which corresponds with the company’s positioning strategy.
The location of the park is convenient to travel to with public transportation and is also conveniently
located near the HK International Airport. The convenience of location has been beneficial to HKDPR in
terms of appeal towards travelling tourists. Prices, however, are a bit high in comparison to other local
options like Ocean Park, which may dissuade people from going to HKDPR (Tickets & Reservations |
Ocean Park Hong Kong, n.d.). HKDPR attempts to counter the high prices with promising bundles and
deals that allow customers to reap benefits depending on their duration of stay, or motive for stay. There
are also several other accommodation options throughout Hong Kong, which may be the better option for
people, especially Mainland Chinese tourists aiming to shop, who prefer a hotel in a location closer to the
downtown Hong Kong area. Promotion, which is also rather weak, could use improvement using various
social media platforms and generally more effort to reach international grounds especially the Mainland
Chinese segment. HKDPR is self-promoted, however, through Disney animated films, which are
renowned throughout the globe.
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PART E. REFERENCES
*Burkitt, L. (2015). Chinese Tourists Will Spend $229 Billion Abroad in 2015. The Wall Street
Journal. Retrieved from: http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2015/09/29/chinese-tourists-willspend-229-billion-abroad-in-2015/
*Chan, I. (2011). My recovery journey – service users experience of occupational therapy
Recovery Oriented Practice in Hong Kong. World Federation of Occupational Therapists
Bulletin, 36-38. Retrieved from: http://outoftownblog.com/my-hong-kong-disneyland-experience/
*Chan, S. (2008, July 23). Chinese Tourists Spend Big in Hong Kong. Bloomberg Business.
Retrieved from:
http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2008-07-23/chinese-tourists-spend-big-in-hongkongbusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice
Disney Careers. (n.d.). About Hong Kong Disneyland. Retrieved from:
http://hkdl.disneycareers.com/en/about-hongkong-disneyland/overview/
Hong Kong Disneyland (n.d.). Key Business Drivers and Financial Highlights-Key Revenue Drivers.
Hong Kong Disneyland Annual Business Review for the Fiscal Year 2014. Retrieved from:
http://ahongkongdisneyland.disney.go.com/media/hkdlcorp_v0100/en_US/aboutOurCompany/An
nualBusinessReview14.pdf
*Fung, Y. H. A. (2013). Asian Popular Culture: The Global (Dis)continuity, London, England:
Routledge.
*Hong Kong The Facts. (2015, April 1). Retrieved from:
http://www.gov.hk/en/about/abouthk/factsheets/docs/population.pdf
*Lau, S. (2013, February 18). Hong Kong Disneyland turns a profit for first time. South China
Morning Post. Retrieved from:
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1153135/hong-kong-disneyland-turns-profit-firsttime
*Lockett, H. (2015, July 29). How Disneyland Shanghai's 2016 launch will change Disney-and
China. China Economic Review. Retrieved from:
http://www.chinaeconomicreview.com/how-disneyland-shaghais-2016-launch-will-changedisney—-china
*Ma, C. (n.d.). “Hong Kong Family Happiness Index Survey” Findings: Domestic Harmony and
Volunteerism Bring Joy to Hong Kong Families. Retrieved from:
https://www.hkupop.hku.hk/english/report/disney08/content/resources/release_eng.pdf
*Olivier. (2015, January 13). The luxury habits of Chinese People. Retrieved from:
http://marketingtochina.com/luxury-habits-chinese-people/
*Park Tickets. (n.d.). Retrieved from:
https://www.hongkongdisneyland.com/tickets/
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*Review of Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, Hong Kong. (2011, November 11). Retrieved from:
http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g294217-d583732-r120419932Hong_Kong_Disneyland_Hotel-Hong_Kong.html
*Tickets & Reservations | Ocean Park Hong Kong. (n.d.). Retrieved from:
https://ticketing.oceanpark.com.hk/oceanpark/b2c/index.cfm/calendar/eventCode/B2C
*The World Factbook. (2015, October 28). Retrieved from:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html
*Theme Park Stories: The History of Hong Kong Disneyland. Theme Park Investigator. (2014,
February 19). Retrieved from:
http://themeparkinvestigator.com/historyofhongkongdisneyland/
*Upton-McLaughlin, S. (2013). The Art of Giving Gifts in China. China culture corner. Retrieved from:
http://chinaculturecorner.com/2013/10/30/giving-gifts-in-china/
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