【明報專訊】FACING bankruptcy if its cash dries up next month, Ocean Park is asking the authorities for a funding of more than $5.4 billion to keep it afloat. To a certain extent, the company's plight is a reflection of the entire tourist industry of Hong Kong. As one of the pillar industries of the city's economy, tourism has borne the brunt of the dramatic political and social changes in Hong Kong last year. The business environment that relied on tourists from the mainland has ceased to exist. The pandemic of Covid-19 has made things even worse, as if it were a nail in the theme park's coffin. Ocean Park's shutdown will affect thousands of jobs, a social cost that needs to be seriously considered. However, if the tourist industry cannot recover, it is doubtful whether Hong Kong can support a major tourist construction like a theme park in the long run. Apart from the question of saving Ocean Park or not, the city must also think about the positioning of the tourist industry as a whole. Whatever changes to the industry's direction and their consequences must be clearly thought over. It should not be supposed that one can have the best of both worlds.