Ocean Park chairman Paulo Pong said the debut of pandas An An and Ke Ke have boosted the atmosphere at the park, and he expects the facility to see more visitors during festive holidays. The two pandas gifted by the central government earlier made their first appearance to the public, and Pong said tourists from both home and abroad have been lining up to spend time with the animals. Speaking on a television programme on Saturday, the chairman said the park was ready for a visitor boom in the coming months. "December is always a peak. We normally expect more visitors during Christmas and Chinese New Year, and now people are eagerly looking forward to visiting the giant pandas. We know they're going to visit the park during these festivals, he said. Pong said Ying Ying's baby twins are expected to greet visitors during the Chinese New Year holiday. Asked whether visitors would have to pay extra to see the twins, Pong said he had not considered it yet, but stressed that ticketing is integral for Ocean Park's income. The Ocean Park Water World has been closed for a seasonal break this winter, instead of keeping its doors open all year round as usual. Pong said this allowed better allocation of manpower, so that more staff could help out at Ocean Park when the Water World was having a slack season.
