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Earlier this year Park World published a report in its Handbook & Buyers Guide by AECOM’s vice president, Chris Yoshii, Beth Chang, executive director and Jodie Lock, associate, looking at theme park development trends in Asia. The following excerpts provide a fascinating insight to the current and future state of the market.


class, AECOM stands by previous forecasts predicting that China alone will overtake the US as the world’s leading themed entertainment market by 2020. The opening of Shanghai Disneyland in June 2016 marked


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a clear turning point in what was previously a market dominated by smaller players and domestic brands, with mixed quality product. Disney’s success in China whipped up confidence among other major global players, such as Universal, Six Flags and Merlin Entertainments, all of whom have announced plans to develop new parks in the region. We also observe a proliferation of smaller indoor themed


entertainment concepts (such as Family Entertainment Centers – or ‘FECs’) and themed water parks, such as Aquaventure Water Park at Atlantis Sanya, targeting the region’s burgeoning middle class and insatiable appetite for leisure and travel. Meanwhile, established and well- respected Chinese operators, such as OCT, Songcheng, and Chimelong, are consistently adding to their portfolios, opening new parks in major cities across China. The fast-paced growth of the theme park industry in China has been dampened by the Government’s ‘deleveraging’ or ‘debt curbing’ campaign. Concerned about the side effects of hyper-growth, in unregulated debt,


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heme parks remain a dynamic segment of the Asian leisure and entertainment market. Fuelled by interest from eager international IPs and a booming middle


rushed construction, and poor-quality product, the Government has placed restrictions on financing and delinked entertainment-led projects from residential schemes. It has also been ordered that mega-parks, defined as costing in excess of US$790 million and/or occupying more than 330 acres, must seek central as well as regional Government approval. For these reasons, Chinese developers and operators are


reducing their debt burdens and are now more cautious about their investments in the sector, resulting in a slowdown in the pipeline, the fire selling of assets, and a general decline in CAPEX budgets. An example of this would be Dalian Wanda, who sold off much of their park portfolio in 2017. However, these changes help ensure new parks are more carefully thought and considered by developers as a serious, longer term commitment. All in all, Asia will benefit from the creation of new, sustainable, high quality theme parks – with a focus on quality, not quantity.


South East Asia Despite a stronger focus on Greater China in recent years, South East Asia’s theme park industry is not to be overlooked. The region is reaping the benefits from increased exposure to developers, operators, and international IP brands. Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia lead the way, and interest in Vietnam is picking up.


SEPTEMBER 2019


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