After two decades in the business of operating Disney theme parks, Randy Garfield concedes that nothing beats the satisfaction derived from putting smiles on the faces of families across different generations. Prudence Lui talks to him about creating “the happiest place on earth”

How has business been for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in Asia-Pacific? What’s the industry outlook?
We published Hong Kong Disneyland (HKDL) business results recently and it’s pretty encouraging. Asia, especially China, has a very robust and growing economy. We are starting to see Chinese travelling to the US, primarily to the western part. We know that it’s quite small right now, but it has tremendous potential over time.

Regarding the regional outlook, I don’t have a crystal ball. We are very encouraged as HKDL gets significant business from China and a variety of markets that are still strong. Tokyo Disney Resort celebrates its 30th anniversary (this year), which has been very successful and continues to be very popular.

Right now, our products, theme parks and resorts include Tokyo Disney Resort and HKDL. We also have the construction of Shanghai Disney Resort, which is still a few years from its scheduled opening.

How do you choose where to open a theme park? Where else in Asia are you planning a Disney resort?
That’s business development side because site selection is complicated due to a variety of infrastructure issues and government support and funding. My role is really to focus on the demand from the source markets and how successful we can be to encourage visitation. This is only one element of the many factors that everybody looks at when ultimately making a decision of where to go. We haven’t made any announcement on building additional theme parks beyond Shanghai.

How does Disney Parks keep the Disney concept alive and relevant to children of this era, who have access to lots of entertainment and grow up with the Internet?
We create a magical experience that people will cherish for a lifetime.

Our product is really in our legacy of storytelling so even for exciting rides, there are stories behind the journey. The thematic attention to detail, storytelling and entertainment are key elements of our products. While we always introduce new products, a lot of them are timeless. It’s just like the long-time Great Wall of China, which people still visit.

Disneyland presents a portfolio of timeless products that people want to  experience again and again at different stages of their lives and show it to other family members. And at the same time, we periodically create new products, whether it’s a parade, shows, entertainment or rides to ensure a pretty good portfolio mix of new and timeless.

Internet changes the way we market ourselves. You have to be (present on) multiple channels, (combining) traditional as well as technological. Just think of the way you consume news, from radio to newspapers to online. However, we want to be really in every place people would go to plan and book travel. Moreover, we also recognise that we can continue to keep guests engaged after they’ve left our products by becoming involved with different elements of Walt Disney companies such as films and TV.

Asia has a different culture from the US, so what did you learn when developing sales strategies for HKDL and the upcoming Shanghai project? What works and what doesn’t?
The similarities are in how our sales people work with stakeholders like retailers, wholesalers, airlines and tour operators to find out how they communicate with their existing client bases: what are the tools they use and what’s most effective in terms of messaging? More than just tools, (the strategies) may be segmented by life stage. To appeal to a student group, my messaging is going to be aimed at the teachers and parents about the educational value of engineering creativity; if I talk to someone who’ve got young children, it may be a little different from someone multi-generational, say, grandma and grandpa. But the leisure message is really about spending timeless moments that you cherish for life. This is where everyone can have a great time.

I wouldn’t say that any one thing works because it depends on emphasis. The most important thing is sending the most relevant message to the consumer, followed by delivering the right product at the right time through the right media.

HKDL eventually turned into a profitable operation after seven years. Is that in line with targets?
We started recording a profit last year. We are encouraged by the progress HKDL has made. Certainly, we’re continuing to invest and expand product portfolio as a result of financial success.

How successful is HKDL in attracting business traffic as the brand is perceived as a family destintion? Are there any new initiatives or products to build this segment?
MICE is a prospective business for us. We are in a locale which is conducive for meetings because it’s a little bit more relaxing, picturesque, outside the hustle and bustle of the city. We also utilise Disney Institute for professional development training, and that’s a key portion of our portfolio offered for groups visiting HKDL for meetings, product roll-outs or exhibitions. HKDL is doing well in terms of its share of MICE business. As Chinese MICE business grows, we will continue to maintain a good share.

For initiatives, there are none we are ready to talk about as we are very strategic about these.

Brand USA will launch a representative office in Hong Kong soon. As one of the board of directors for the campaign, how would you leverage on your position to grow more Asian traffic to the US?
I sit on the board on Brand USA and is responsible for generating tourism for the US. We are seeing increasing number of Chinese travellers to the US, primarily to the West Coast. But we know that will expand as time goes by. Aliana Ho (vice president of Asia Pacific regional sales and travel operations, The Walt Disney Company (Asia Pacific)) just met with Brand USA so they are evaluating different markets, and I know that China is high on the list. China continues to grow and it’s certainly strong enough to be a relevant factor in a successful Disneyland. We are starting to see more tourism from China to North America. For the last few years, we have large groups coming to Disneyland for Chinese New Year.

Tell us more about HKDL’s trade engagement activities like the Sales Excellence Award. How is it different from other regions? 
The rationale behind the Sales Excellence Award is recognising and thanking trade partners for their support. We want to show our partners how much we appreciate, respect and value them all these years. This event is a formal opportunity (of recognition and celebration), where they get to spend time not only with a broad cross section of our sales executives but also with their colleagues.

The concept takes place across different regions and while we may label it differently, it has similar objectives. In fact, it’s not limited to travel (experts) but also applicable for the meeting and convention, and student/youth travel segments.

The message that you see on TV is primarily for the leisure market but we are pretty active in the MICE and student markets; we have tremendous kindergarten programmes and that is unique to HKDL.

What do you think are the future trends for theme park operation in Asia?
I don’t have a crystal ball but I still believe that people will be looking to spend quality time with their friends, families and loved ones. The Disney experience will more than exceed that expectation and help people create memories that they will cherish forever, but we will always remain relevant and a world-class leader creating entertaining and exciting travel experiences.

Do you think theme park business in Asia-Pacific has become more competitive? Why?
I’ll relate this to North America, where there are about 320 million people. In the US, Disney operates six theme parks and there are also strong competitors like SeaWorld, Universal Parks & Resorts and a variety of smaller entities. In China, we’ll operate two theme parks, drawing on a population of 1.3 billion people. So we think there are plenty of opportunities, and competition is healthy in raising awareness. It gives us more opportunities for differentiation.

When catering for the Chinese market, the challenge is certainly that the Disney brand is not as widely known in China because in the US, the brand has been around since 1923. Disneyland has been in business since 1955 and Walt Disney World since 1971, so there is far more awareness of the Disney brand in North America than traditionally has been in China because of the theme parks, movies, TV and consumer products. China is a strong growing market but a lot of western products are still in the early stages of awareness.

How’s the progress of Shanghai Disney Resort?
We are still in the early stages of construction, which is moving on schedule. We are also building our marketing sales team as well as the operations team. The staff strength is growing bigger and bigger closer to the opening. We hired Wang Yan as vice president, sales and distribution marketing of Shanghai Disney Resort. She’s got a long history working in the travel industry, and she’s pulling together her sales team as we speak.

Strategy-wise, we are in the discovery phase, formulating our marketing and sales strategies, doing consumer insight research and planning our work before we work our plan. The trade will continue to play a significant role in the success of Shanghai Disney Resort, just as it has been for HKDL and every other theme park product that we have.

Philosophically, the strategy is to identify and work with partners whom we believe have a strong, established track record and generating regional demand, and similarly for the MICE side with different players.

How fast do you expect Shanghai Disneyland to make profit?
I can’t speculate on financial issues but I am confident that Shanghai Disneyland will be successful, and this success will not be at the expense of Hong Kong. They’ll both be successful in their own way for just the reason I mentioned before – the size of the Chinese market. Two theme parks in a country the size of China is really not an issue when you have six of them in the US.

What keeps you working in the group in the last two decades? What’s your proudest moment or project?
Great people and great products. I am very blessed by being able to work with exceptional talented  members not only in marketing and sales but in imagineering, entertainment and operations. They all inspired me. When I think about all the different jobs that I could be in or helping my career, all I need to do is walk out that door and take a look at the families out there. See the happiness we created, that makes me feel pretty good. There are a lot of meaningful jobs in the world – teachers, doctors, lawyers – but I am in the job creating happiness.

What do you like to do in your leisure time?
I like to read books and fish. I travel off the beaten path to small, out-of-the-way places like Montana and Vermont. I like to go to more rural parts of America when I travel because I like to see small-town living. I travel so much for work, so when I am on vacation, I try to spend a lot of time at home.