Wet madness: Sunway Lagoon’s water park is rated as one of the best in the world.
Theme park operators will be flexing their muscles to attract visitors during this bumper holiday season. As it is, theme parks are already running special promotions and festivity-related activities to ensure they maximise business opportunities during the Chinese New Year holidays.
But more than just getting a slice of the holiday pie, local theme park operators are eyeing bigger turnouts this year, which would also undoubtedly help increase their revenues.
Local theme park Sunway Lagoon is looking at some major investments to upgrade its facilities, which assistant general manager Adron Leow said would draw in bigger crowds.
Sunway Lagoon Sdn Bhd has increased its budget by 20% this year, compared to 2012, to upgrade its existing facilities and introduce new rides. “Last year, we had approximately 1.5 million visitors, of which 60% were tourists. With the increase in budget, we also hope to increase the number of visitors by 20%,” Leow said.
According to Bill Holman, one of the founding fathers of Sunway Lagoon, theme parks have to introduce new rides and thrills every two years to remain relevant. This formula has earned Sunway Lagoon the label of being Asia’s best theme park for four consecutive years from 2007 to 2010 by the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA).
In line with that, Sunway Lagoon is also studying the possibility of introducing rides at night.
“We can’t just do it. We have the facilities but safety is our biggest priority. We are confident that it will be safe and there are possibilities,” explained Leow.
One of the rides that could be a hit should it be opened to the public at night is the Vuvuzela, the world’s largest vortex water ride, which is currently under construction.
The ride differs from other rides thanks to its 11-storey launch tower height and a one-of-a-kind LED lighting display for nighttime use. The multi-coloured programmed light display of the ride ably showcases the location of the Vuvuzela within the water park.
Besides this, Sunway Lagoon also recently launched the world’s first 5D Waterplexx, adding to the more than 80 attractions available at the theme park. Sunway Lagoon is among the few local theme parks that have crafted a strong brand in Malaysia.
But while local theme park operators have been dominating segments of the market here, Malaysia has seen the entrance of a number of international theme parks over the last few years.
Themed Attractions and Resorts Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the government’s investment arm Khazanah Nasional Bhd, has been in the driver’s seat in bringing in international attractions to the region including the Legoland and Sanrio Hello Kitty Town theme parks in Iskandar, Johor.
Another park brought in by Themed Attractions and Resorts is Mexican theme park, Kidzania. Located in Mutiara Damansara, Kidzania, which targets children aged four to 14, is an indoor family education and entertainment centre. Kidzania uses role-play to create a child-centric city experience for its target audience.
Kidzania opened its doors at the end of February last year and general manager Susanah Abdul Rani said the park received close to 400,000 visitors in the 10 months of operations last year. “Initially, response to the park was slow because people were not aware of Kidzania.
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“But we promoted the park extensively last year, particularly in schools, and we saw the visitors coming in. We are expecting about 500,000 visitors this year,” Susanah said. She noted that interest has been encouraging so far and Kidzania has secured bookings for 4,000 visitors in the first quarter of this year itself with more expected to come after Chinese New Year.
Kidzania has also put up new establishments in the theme park to keep it fresh for repeat visitors, who make up about 10% of its clientele base.
An establishment in Kidzania is typically a “company” in the theme park where young visitors can go to to role-play in different professions such as lawyers, engineers, firefighters, pilots and so on. The theme park ties up with local industry partners such as Honda, Dell and AirAsia to set up these establishments to emulate a real working experience for the children.
“We are going to expand with more establishments and activities in the pipeline for this year. And we are definitely looking at more marketing efforts to bring in the visitors,” Susanah added. She noted that the company would be spending some 3% to 5% of its revenue on marketing and promoting the theme park.
Susanah believes that there is good growth potential for Kidzania as there is a gap in the theme park market that caters to families with young children.
“And with various theme parks opening up in Malaysia, it will create a vibrant industry for theme parks. But there is a lot of room to grow in the young children segment, especially for parks that have educational elements and Kidzania fits that profile well,” she said.
While every theme park go all out to woo visitors this holiday, Susanah noted that competition in the local theme park industry is not yet saturated as different parks appeal to different target groups.
Industry players say the local market and Southeast Asia in general presents a lucrative opportunity for theme park operators as disposable income rises and infrastructure in the region is more developed for new attractions.
A report by Pricewaterhouse–Coopers forecast Asian theme park attendance to grow to 290mil last year from 249mil in 2007, while spending in that period was expected to rise from US$6.4bil to US$8.4bil. Apart from the rides and attractions, Leow also hopes to draw in more visitors via its events and concerts.
Sunway Lagoon has hosted the most sought after events in the region like the MTV World Stage (2009, 2010 & 2012), Arthur’s Day celebrations and the Quiksilver Revolution Tour. Leow added that by 2014, the theme park aims to double in size. “Sunway Lagoon will also be hosting several concerts this year, including some by celebrities who have not been here before.”
-thestar online.
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