Investors still keen to ride theme park craze
By Zhou Weirong (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-07-25 08:59 At the opening of the IAAPA Asian Expo 2006 held in Shanghai recently, IAAPA
President and Chief Executive Officer Charlie Bray said the "explosive"
development of China's theme parks has seen the country emerge as a driver for
the Asia-Pacific region, which is set to enjoy the fastest growth of this
industry in the coming five to 10 years.
"The Asia-Pacific is clearly an
emerging market for the amusement park and attractions industry. I think the
future growth of the region will largely depend on China and India," he
said.
According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report, "Global Entertainment
and Media Outlook," revenue generated from theme parks on mainland China is
expected to grow 7.1 per cent annually to reach US$1.8 billion in 2010, up from
US$1.3 billion last year.
The performance in Hong Kong is even better,
with the opening of Disneyland Hong Kong in 2005 and the redevelopment of its
Ocean Park. It expects an annual growth of 21.8 per cent to reach US$362 million
in 2010 from US$135 million in 2005.
Meanwhile, the Asia-Pacific region
is expected to generate an average annual revenue growth of 5.9 per cent to
reach a total income of US$8.2 billion by 2010.
Attendance at Asia's
theme parks is expected to hit 278 million in 2010, up from 234 million last
year, equalling an increase of 18.8 per cent.
However, the report also
pointed out that investments in many theme parks in the country are not
successful. The poor performance of these parks was attributed to a lack of
major reinvestments.
According to Liu Jingwang, deputy executive
president of the China Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, China's
amusement parks and attractions industry is already plagued by repetitive
investments from local governments.
"If you go to any medium-sized and
large-sized cities, you will find a theme park that is built up or under
construction. I am kind of worried what do we do with so many amusement
parks?"
Local governments should therefore carefully evaluate the market
and control the scale of investment to avoid huge losses incurred by
insufficient demand, he said.
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