Asian theme park performance recovers with revenues exceeding 2019 levels

Theme parks in Asia are recording revenues exceeding 2019 levels, recovering from the impact of the pandemic when attendance plunges.

Advising that the resurgence is part of a global trend of rising visits to, and rising revenues in, attractions, International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Asia Pacific Executive Director and Vice President, June Ko explains “despite the pandemic, inflation and rising costs, we see that people are willing to spend more on the experience, to spend time with family and friends.”

Charting this resurgence, the Association is bringing back its Asia Pacific annual conference, IAAPA Expo Asia, to be held from 13th to 16th June in Singapore, at which more than 270 exhibitors will convene for four days, sharing their products and services with an expected 8000 delegates.

Ko advised “this is the IAAPA Asia Expo since the pandemic … we are really happy to bring it back.”

Topics like sustainability, inclusion and trends as well as case studies and best practices will be showcased in an industry where theme park spending is expected to grow at an 8.1% compound annual rate, up to 2025, according to the IAAPA Global Theme and Amusement Park Outlook 2021-2015.

Releasing the report in 2021, IAAPA projected theme park attendance to grow 112%, from a depressed base in 2022, recapturing 68% of the attendance lost in 2020. It projects that it will not be until 2024 before global theme park attendance surpasses 2019 level.

Commenting on Asia’s performance through the pandemic, Hong Kong-based Ko explains “the sector took a really big hit, but a lot of them put efforts into reinventing themselves, to make their rides better, to run better education programmes and they invested in technology.

“Guest behaviour has also changed, so the industry has responded with better systems, better tech and better guest services. But like all industries, we are also facing a manpower challenge, we cannot hire enough people - and we need people to manage the higher expectations of guests.

“Now everyone wants to feel special, everyone has reflected during the pandemic and they expect more attention.”

Another change coming out of the pandemic is the growth and opportunity in the education segment.

Here Ko comments “we see lots of smaller parks merging with education and science centres. They are popping up in China and India to cater to the growing middle class. They are smaller in size and cater to local markets.”

Ko notes another behavioural change is that prior to the pandemic “Hong Kong people did not like to be out in the sun and heat but having gone through Covid, they are starting to enjoy the outdoors and sports-related attractions are becoming more popular. We see wellness and sports as good growth areas.”

In terms of technology adoption, Covid forced a mass acceleration of consumers online and attractions had to follow, stating “people don’t want to queue, they want to pre-purchase tickets and experiences and they want interactive experiences.

“The kind of data and information you can collect on each individual, where they like to go, what kind of games they like - you can create better individual experiences.”.

She said that even before the term ‘metaverse’ was coined, theme parks had been experimenting with virtual worlds, adding “theme parks are about human interaction and face to face. But virtual worlds can extend the experience - for example, after you go home, you can still engage with it.”