Why was Disney’s Shanghai theme park so controversial? What are the risks and benefits of this project? What do you think is the likelihood that it will “cannibalise” the Hong Kong Park?
Shanghai is considered to be the commercial capital of China, and hence initially the Disney was attracted to it. The industrialization and marketing in shanghai played a considerable role in the setup of Disney. But the corruption in government restricted the park’s development and was officially held back in 2006. In 2009 when Disney came up with the proposal to set up the theme park, china agreed to obtain significant investment and new jobs.
Disney started the project to build the theme park, but there were obstacles such as economic and legal investment climate and the potential for culture. Also, there is a concern that shanghai will cannibalise revenue in Hong Kong, but as a result, Disney is attracting a different community of customers, mainly because of this concern.