Merlin Entertainments looks to Asian expansion

Merlin Entertainments, the world’s second largest operator of themed attractions after Disney, is on a “mandate to grow”, according to recently appointed Chief Executive Scott M. O'Neil.

With four Legoland Resorts set to open in China before the end of next year - in Shanghai, Chengdu, Beijing and Shenzhen - O'Neil has also identified opportunities across Asia for its indoor Midway attractions.

Already operating Legoland Resorts in Dubai, Korea and Malaysia plus - under its Midway Attractions brand, Dungeon, LEGOLAND Discovery Centres, SEA LIFE and Peppa Pig World locations in China, India, Japan and Singapore - Asia represents a significant focus for O’Neil.

O’Neil, who joined Merlin at the end of last year has, during June visited Australia, Singapore and Malaysia to visit as many of Merlin’s attractions and meet as many staff as possible.

In addition to having made visits to Chine and Japan since joining Merlin, he is extraordinarily confident about future opportunities for the group.

Predicting that Asia will be Merlin’s fastest region of growth in 2024, he sees, in addition to Legoland Resorts, significant opportunities for its Midway Attractions, which are located in city centres, shopping malls and resorts.

During his recent visit to Singapore and Legoland Malaysia, O’Neil told TTG Asia there were plans to “cluster” and expand Sentosa’s Madame Tussauds by adding an attraction or acquiring one nearby.

He also sees Merlin exploiting particular opportunities in what he calls ‘gateway cities’.

Speaking to Australasian Leisure Management, he advised “when I arrived at Merlin’s head office in the UK, I heard a statistic that a quarter of tourists who come to London visit one of our attractions.”

Now O’Neil is looking to replicate that in cities including Singapore, Sydney, Shanghai, Osaka and Seoul.

Here O’Neil advised that Merlin will look to not only develop new attractions but to also acquire existing ones.

Another major focus for O’Neil is understanding more about Merlin’s customers and their preferences, explaining “we need to custom-tailor our experiences for our visitors and encourage them to come back more often.”

Scott M. O'Neil is interviewed in Australasian Leisure Management issue 156, explaining his plans for the Australian market.

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Images: Merlin Entertainments Chief Executive Scott M. O'Neil (top) and the concept for Legoland Shanghai as build in Lego (below). Credit: Merlin Entertainments.