Excitement builds ahead of Universal grand opening

The Universal Beijing Resort, which is scheduled to open on Sept 20, has announced tickets will go on sale from Sept 14.

The Universal Studio Grand Hotel and the NUO Resort Hotel at the resort will start taking reservations on the same day.

The resort, which includes the Universal Studios Beijing theme park and a public commercial area, began trial operation on Wednesday, after a series of stress tests that spanned some three months.

After its opening during this year's three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, which begins on Sept 19, the world's largest Universal Studios theme park will offer four types of day tickets, priced from 418 to 748 yuan ($65 to $116), according to different dates.

In September, one-day tickets will be priced at 638 yuan. During the weeklong National Day holiday in October, the price will increase to 748 yuan, except for the beginning and ending days of the holiday, when the price will remain 638 yuan, according to the resort's ticket calendar on its official website.

From Oct 10 to Nov 14, the ticket price will normally be 638 yuan on weekends and 528 yuan Monday to Friday. From Nov 22, the park will begin to offer its off-season ticket price at 418 yuan on working days.

Bookings can be made via a variety of channels, including mini-programs and the resort's official app.

Data from online travel agencies indicate enormous interest in the new theme park.

Half an hour after the announcement of the opening, searches for flights to Beijing scheduled during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday on online platform Qunar surged 11 times from the same period the week before.

Searches for transport and accommodation related to the theme park have mainly been from Beijing and the capital's neighboring areas including Tianjin, cities in Hebei province－such as Shijiazhuang, Langfang and Baoding－and Zhengzhou, Henan province, as well as traditional top tourist sources of Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, according to Ctrip data.

"China's cultural tourism has shifted from sightseeing to leisure and recreational activities, as well as for socializing, so it's not just the scenery on the journey, but who is there and the emotional resonance that have become important," Li Dechun, an expert on commercial and tourism properties, told People's Daily.

The Universal Beijing Resort has an edge in meeting these needs as it can fill visitors with nostalgia revolving around blockbuster movie franchises, Li said.

A tourism report found a strong demand for short-haul tours, especially two-day weekend trips to nearby regions, among Chinese people this year, and theme parks were a popular option on their itineraries.

Lin Huanjie, head of the Institute for Theme Park Studies in China, told Chinese media that the Universal Studio project will have a positive effect on Beijing and its neighboring regions.

Centering on Beijing, regions within 200 kilometers or a two-hour drive are expected to benefit from it, Lin said. Tourists from outside Beijing who visit the resort are more than likely to also spend time in the city visiting its other attractions.

However, the popularity of the Universal Beijing Resort is estimated to affect other theme parks in neighboring regions, taking away their potential tourist traffic, Lin noted, adding that in response, they need to offer competitive prices, or alternatively, have differentiated offerings.