AECOM strengthens its position in Asia's leisure industry

AECOM is strengthening its presence in Asia's leisure industry through increasing the Asian components in its annual Theme and Museum Index (undertaken with the Themed Entertainment Association) and thought leadership speaking engagements at key business events.

The latest Theme and Museum Index showed that Asia's theme and water parks led a global rise in attendances with a 5.8% increase in annual attendances in 2012 with visitation rising to 108.7 million attendances.

The Index also identified how, in the Middle East and Asia, the role of museums in driving tourism has caused a sea change in how they are perceived from an economic impact perspective.

Speaking at the China Hotel Investment Conference in Shanghai, on the topic of integrated delivery, AECOM Vice President - Economics (Asia-Pacific) Chris Yoshi highlighted AECOM's strengths in the field, stating "integrated delivery of mixed-use urban and resort destinations has great advantages in terms of reducing project management time and costs for the developer.

"It ensures a shorter delivery process, preserves the design intent and achieves real sustainability."

At the recent Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific in Singapore, AECOM Regional Managing Director for Planning, Design + Development, Southeast Asia Scott Dunn, shared his insight on what makes a great destination.

Dunn explained "a successful destination needs to have policies and a design put in place to engage people, promote a thriving natural ecosystem, celebrate diverse local cultures, build world-class tourism destinations and establish opportunities for tiered investment thresholds."

Dunn also highlighted AECOM's notable projects - Macau Cotai Resort in Macau; the Shenzhou Peninsula Wanning Tourism Masterplan in Hainan, China; and the River of Life (Klang River) in Malaysia - as examples during his presentation.

Image: Macau's Cotai strip.

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