Theme parks to tap western potential

Updated: 2016-07-29 08:04

By Tan Yingzi and Hu Yuanyuan(China Daily Europe)

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US-based Six Flags will explore China's interior with an entertainment center in Chongqing

The Walt Disney Co and Universal Studios Inc are busy opening large new businesses in China's affluent coastal areas, but other global theme park operators are eying the potential in vast, less-developed inland regions.

About a month after the grand opening of Shanghai Disney Resort, Six Flags Entertainment Corp announced on July 20 it is to build a theme park in southwestern Chongqing in partnership with Riverside Investment Group.

 Theme parks to tap western potential

Tourists at a Six Flags Entertainment Corp theme park in North America. Provided to China Daily

With an estimated cost of 30 billion yuan ($4.49 billion; 4.08 billion euros), Chongqing Riverside-Six Flags Theme Town Park will be the first international theme park in western China.

It will also be Six Flags' second project in China, with the first in Haiyan, Zhejiang province. Founded in 1961 in Texas, the company is a regional theme park company with 18 projects in North America featuring a mix of roller coasters and family attractions.

Chongqing, with a population of 30 million, is the gateway to China's western regions. "Such a world-famous theme park will help boost our tourism and attract millions of visitors from neighboring provinces," the city's mayor, Huang Qifan, said at the investment agreement signing ceremony on July 20.

Western China covers 12 provincial-level municipalities, provinces and autonomous regions, with a total population of 380 million. Major cities, such as Chongqing and Chengdu, have been seeking theme park projects.

"The platform for growth here is great, and it has the perfect formula for our industry," says John Duffey, president and CEO of Six Flags. "There is a significant population, a growing middle class, growing disposable incomes, and a limited theme park presence."

Data from the China Tourism Academy show the total revenue of China's tourism sector was 4 trillion yuan last year, with about 230 billion yuan generated by theme parks.

The nation's theme parks are expected to attract 282 million visitors in 2019, more than double the figure in 2014, according to Euromonitor International.

Duffey says there is ample room for many companies to participate in the market, given the minimal number of theme parks now in China.

"The attractions Six Flags offers are quite different from Disney. We both offer many types of unique rides and attractions, but Six Flags is known for its record-breaking coasters and breathtaking thrills for guests of all ages," he says. "Having multiple players build theme parks in China will help the overall industry grow and provide multiple entertainment options for families."

Riverside Investment signed a deal with Six Flags in 2014 to jointly explore the Chinese market.

Li Zhe, chairman of Riverside Investment, says the group will build 10 Six Flags theme parks in China over the next 10 years.

European companies such as Merlin Entertainments Group have already launched nontheme park projects in Chongqing such as an aquarium and a waxworks.

Contact the writers at tanyingzi@chinadaily.com.cn and

huyuanyuan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 07/29/2016 page29)

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