More than 200 people arrived this morning to witness the opening first show of the new marine park.
The show started at 10:30am, with many parents bringing their children to view the spectacle of Earth’s most intelligent sea creatures, guided by trainers, performing tricks and aerial stunts with balls and hoops.
Many of the visitors at the morning show, which was reserved exclusively for Thais, gave glowing reviews of the performance to The Phuket News reporter at the scene.
Supreecha Suthamanondh, General Manager of Phuket Aqua Project Co Ltd, told The Phuket News that the venue was to present only a one-off premiere today, but demand saw a second show performed at 2pm.
The venue will present two shows tomorrow (Nov 1), with the afternoon show reserved for foreigners only.
Dolphin Bay will open to the general public Next Tuesday (Nov 3) with promotional entry prices for the entire month of November, Mr Supreecha said.
Five dolphins and two seals arrived by flight from the Ukraine arrive at the B100mn Nemo marine park two weeks ago (see story here), amid much controversy.
Mr Supreecha recognised the huge public controversy surrounding the opening of the Nemo marine park after vociferous online campaigns against the facility produced copies of documents showing that the company that Phuket Aqua Co Ltd sourced the dolphins from had in turn sourced at least some dolphins from Japan, renowned for the infamous annual dolphin slaughter at the Taiji Cove.
However, Mr Supreecha previously responded to The Phuket News, “I understand the concern from conservationists, but all of these animals were born in captivity. They are not from the wild and they need training and care.
“Our dolphin specialists will take very good care of them,” he said.