Merlin to open new attractions in Bangkok and Sydney

Having recently opened Madame Tussauds Bangkok the Merlin Entertainments Group is searching for a location to develop a Legoland Discovery Centre.

Merlin Entertainments (Thailand), a subsidiary of the UK based operator of amusement parks and other attractions, is looking for investment opportunities in Bangkok.

The company, which opened Madame Tussauds Bangkok in December, expects to operate three attractions in Bangkok within two years, which will be packaged together into a "cluster" to generate economies of scale.

The company will spend between Bt400 million and Bt500 million to develop one new attraction. It also plans to take over at least one other facility.

Paul Williams, Company Director and General Manager of Madame Tussauds Bangkok, said the company is looking for empty space in Bangkok to develop a "Lego Land Discovery Centre".

Williams added that in London, the company runs clusters of entertainment attractions, including the London Eye, London Aquarium, and London Dungeon, stating "in Bangkok, there is also the possibility of putting two or three attractions together so they can be sold in one package to customers."

Williams added that with the cluster system, the company would be able to manage several attractions at a low cost, as it will require just one marketing manager and one operations manager to handle all the facilities.

Located in the Siam Discovery Centre, Madame Tussauds Bangkok is expected to attract about 500,000 visitors in its first year, of which at least 80% will be Thais.

Williams said that following the soft opening in December, Madame Tussauds had received very positive feedback from its customers.

Madame Tussauds Bangkok features 80 waxworks of popular movie stars and local celebrities including Johnny Depp, Nicole Kidman and US President Barack Obama.

In October, the museum will launch a 300 metre2 'Horror Maze' and a 200-seat 4-dimensional cinema.

Following its recent acquisition of Village Roadshow Ltd's Sydney Attractions Group, Merlin has announced plans to open a Madame Tussauds wax museum in Sydney in 2012, in addition to the opening of another of its attractions, Legoland, in Malaysia ï¾ also scheduled for next year 2012.

Merlin's Australia and New Zealand divisional director Edward Fuller said in a statement "these are exciting attractions with enormous potential."

Based in the UK, the privately-owned Merlin owns 64 attractions, six hotels and two holiday villages in 14 different countries.

10th March 2011 - MERLIN COMPLETES SYDNEY ATTRACTIONS GROUP PURCHASE

21st December 2009 - MADAME TUSSAUDS TO OPEN IN BANGKOK