Industry Influencer
www.parkworld-online.com
We are
looking forward to bringing the incredible guest experience to life in 2021, this remains unchanged.
manager of the Beijing park, I decided that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be a part of this great project, and great company, so I said “yes”, and joined in October 2017.
Can you tell me how the resort will fit into Universal’s global offer? Will it have any features that are unique to the region? Universal Beijing Resort is the fruit of co-creation, merging Universal’s decades of global theme park experience with our partner’s deep insights to China. It isn’t a simple replica of any other Universal parks around the world. The Universal Beijing Resort experience is unique to China – representing a collection of Universal’s most popular attractions from around the world as well as specially themed experiences reflecting China’s rich cultural heritage. Some examples are:
Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness features a completely indoor experience set in “Legendary China,” and will be Universal’s first theme park land created with the Kung Fu Panda theme. The land will feature numerous Chinese-themed locations with stunning traditional architecture, festive decor, delicious food and captivating performances.
Chinese film director Zhang Yimou and Hollywood director Steven Spielberg partnered to create a behind- the-scenes movie-making experience for UBR, a perfect example of east-meets-west at our resort. The NUO Resort Hotel - Universal Beijing Resort, will offer a luxurious and picturesque getaway, exemplifying the beauty of China’s ancient royal garden culture. As the starting point and one of the iconic features of UBR, Universal CityWalk Beijing also reflects local characteristics. All venues and offerings were carefully selected based on our consumer insights, specifically for the China market. CityWalk will feature exciting new takes on numerous Chinese brands familiar to local consumers (six Asian style restaurants and eight Western style restaurants)
Right now we are in the final phase of construction and meanwhile conducting all kinds of operational preparation. We are looking at a sucessful grand opening in 2021. We’ll share the exact opening date when we’re ready.
How did you choose suppliers? Universal Beijing Resort is a fruit of global co-creation and great partnership across more than 100 countries. To give you a sense by the numbers, 500+ top international and Chinese creative artists, 500+ Chinese and global suppliers and partners across industries, and more than 100 thousand constructors have been involved from the creative to construction process.
To land a project of this scale, it requires everyone to be highly dedicated and collaborative, and this is what is happening at our site now.
Talk me through the planned rides and attractions, the food & beverage, and retail offer - the whole experience.
Universal Beijing Resort is a theme park destination that will feature the largest Universal theme park - Universal Studios Beijing, the Universal CityWalk Beijing, a retail, dining and entertainment complex and two brand new resort hotels.
40
In total, the resort has 37 cutting-edge amazing attractions and rides, 24 shows and performances, 80 food and beverage vendors, 30 retail stores.
The seven themed lands in Universal Studios Beijing are: Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness, Transformers: Metrobase, Minion Land, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Jurassic World Isla Nublar, Hollywood and WaterWorld. Each land will contain a magnificently themed mix of attractions, shows, shops and restaurants. For example, Transformers Metrobase is the first entire Transformers land in the world, and exclusively built in Universal Beijing Resort with a dedicated background set in China. There are multiple rides – Decepticoaster, Battle for Allspark, Bumblebee Boogie; F&B venue - Energon Power Station; store – The Supply Vault, etc., that could immerse our guests in the story with multi-sensorial offerings and allow them to explore their own experience here.
What impact has the pandemic had on your timeline and the operational structure you had planned?
With strong support of the government and local partners, construction and preparation work of Universal Beijing Resort has been progressing smoothly. We are among the first batch for work resumption among all major projects in Beijing. Currently nearly 90% of the construction work has been completed and our rides, shows, attractions and other facilities are now under installation and testing. Ensuring the health and safety of our team members and project-related staff has always been one of our core values. We have been taking comprehensive preventive measures since January, and our team members have worked together and responded positively. We are looking forward to bringing the incredible guest experience to life in 2021, this remains unchanged.
Do you think there will be lasting changes to the industry as a result of Covid-19? If so, what will they be?
The pandemic has brought both challenges and opportunities. The number of tourists has decreased dramatically due to tourist control measures, and the pandemic has brought a sense of fear to tourism. For industry vendors and suppliers, the supply chain is facing serious difficulties. This will need time to recover. We believe the impact will not last too long and we have full confidence on the recovery and revitalisation of global tourism in the future. Take the situation in China for example, during the past October Golden Week, 637 million people travelled domestically, which is basically 80% of the prior year and showed a very strong rebounding momentum. Meanwhile, the pandemic has accelerated the innovation and digitalisation of the tourism industry.
The rapid development of technologies application in cultural and tourism industries enables more innovative and digitalised ways to improve guest experiences. Especially in the post-COVID-19 era, to ensure a safe and hygienic environment, theme park industry may need to put epidemic control measures into normalized operations. We can create a safe and hygienic environment by unitising digitally advanced technologies to help test temperatures with contactless equipment and to count the number of visitors to manage capacity.
DECEMBER 2020
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