SIM LEISURE GROUP REACHES NEW GLOBAL EXPANSION MILESTONE

 BY GABRIELLE


Sim Leisure Group, a leading designer of theme and water parks, has reached a new milestone in the international expansion of its ESCAPE brand.

The company has signed an agreement with Sri Lankan-listed Elpitiya Plantations, to develop and operate a theme park in Sri Lanka under the ESCAPE brand.

The ESCAPE Sri Lanka theme park will be located between Colombo and the city of Galle. The first phase of construction of the site on 30 acres of land will begin in 2020.

The island of Sri Lanka has a huge untapped domestic tourism sector. In 2019, the island welcomed 1.91 million international tourists. The opening of a family-friendly theme park is poised to be a successful and welcome addition to Sri Lanka.

Sim Choo Kheng, founder and CEO of Sim Leisure spoke about the potential of bringing the ESCAPE brand to Sri Lanka: “We see a remarkable opportunity in brining the “ESCAPE” brand to Sri Lanka’s domestic tourism landscape. Sri Lankans are very eager for a world-class tourist attraction, and we are very excited for this chapter in Sim Leisure’s regional growth.”

EUROPA-PARK’S 2020 SEASON POSTPONED INDEFINITELY

 BY GABRIELLE


Europa-Park in Rust, Germany, has announced its 2020 season is to be postponed indefinitely amid the coronavirus crisis.

The popular theme park was due to open on April 15. However, the government in Germany has banned all major events until August 31. The measure may include the operation of major attraction sites, but this has not yet been confirmed.

The opening of Europa-Park is not yet known, but officials say they remained confident the theme park will open at some point this year.

LAUNCH OF TORNADO SPRINGS AT PAULTONS PARK POSTPONED TO 2021

BY GABRIELLE


Paultons Park theme park in Hampshire has announced that the launch of its new themed land ‘Tornado Springs’ will be postponed until Easter 2021.

The land, which stretches for four acres and is home to many family attractions including Peppa Pig World, was due to launch on May 19 this year. Due to unprecedented challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 lockdown, the opening of the themed land has been put on hold until next year.

Tornado Springs is designed in an American style, based on a fictional town in 1950’s Midwest USA. The land boasts more than seven new rides and attractions and will be Paulton Park’s fifth themed land.

Richard Mancey, managing director of Paultons Park, commented on the postponed of the launch of the new land: “The decision to delay the opening of Tornado Springs to 2021 has been very difficult to make, particularly as so many of our guests have been eagerly looking forward to enjoying the new rides and attractions.

“We know how disappointing this postponement will be, to both our guests and our staff. After eighteen months of hard work it is very hard to accept that the attraction will not open this year, particularly when it is so close to completion. However, with no work taking place on site at present and with no clear idea of when the specialist contractors from several European countries will be able to recommence work, we felt that this was our only option.

“Everyone who has been involved in bringing Tornado Springs to life has poured their heart and soul into creating a truly spectacular experience, so rest assured it will be worth the wait,” Mancey added.

OCEAN FLOWER ISLAND IN CHINA TO OPEN AS SCHEDULED

BY GABRIELLE


Ocean Flower Island, the artificial archipelago off the north coast of Danzhou, Hainan, China, is to open as scheduled, despite setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 13, Zhang Weidang, chairman of Evergrande Fairland Operation Group and of Ocean Flower Island Company, announced that although construction of the site had been affected by the COVID-19 virus, Ocean Flower Island will open this year, as scheduled.

Ocean Flower Island will feature more than 200 internationally renowned brands, including 12 Michelin-starred restaurants. The entertainment site will be home to state-of-the-art marine museums, fantasy dramas customised by world-famous directors, five-star resort hotels, duty-free shopping malls, theme parks centred on a fairy tale theme, marine interactive themes park, snow mountain themed water park, and much more.

Ocean Flower Island is expected to welcome 10 million visitors each year.

SEAWORLD TAKES PROACTIVE MEASURES ON COVID-19 RESPONSE

BY GABRIELLE


SeaWorld Entertainment has announced it is taking a series of proactive measures to ensure the safety of its customers, employees, and animals, in response to the pandemic. The measures include the amending of its existing credit facility, appropriately managing costs and expenditures and ensuring liquidity as SeaWorld parks remain closed.

On April 19, 2020, SeaWorld Entertainment entered an amendment of its existing revolving credit facility. The agreement stipulates that the company will be exempt from complying with the financial maintenance covenants for the second, third and fourth quarters of 2020. SeaWorld will be required to comply with the covenants from the first quarter of 2021 onwards.

Marc Swanson, interim chief executive officer of SeaWorld Entertainment, described what the amendment will bring to the theme park and entertainment company: “The increase in our revolving credit facility that we secured on March 10th, the amendment to our revolving credit facility that we announced today and the expected proceeds from the notes offering that we also announced today, will provide us with significant financial flexibility and liquidity to operate in this unprecedented and highly uncertain environment.”

“I am proud of our team and thankful for their resilience during these uncertain times. We are fully committed to successfully navigating through this current environment, reopening our parks, and welcoming back our guests as soon as it’s safe and permitted. We are confident in our business and strategy and sincerely look forward to coming out of this crisis and continuing to drive improved operating and financial results and long-term value for all stakeholders,” Swanson continued.

LATEST NEWS FOLIDAY TO FUND SANYA FOSUN CULTURAL TOURISM CITY

 BY GABRIELLE


The Chinese holiday group known as Foliday has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Sanya municipal government. The agreement states that Foliday will inject large capital sums to build the Sanya Fosun Cultural Tourism City.

The destination will feature world-class theme parks, themed hotels, international shopping centres, wellness centres, wealth management centres, and more.

Shanghai Foliday announced it was to ‘invest heavily’ in the Hainan province several years ago. The company has subsequently introduced a number of well-known international brands to Hainan.

One such brand is the Sanya Atlantis park, which opened in April 2018. In 2019, revenue of the park reached 1.31 billion yuan (approx. US$0.18 billion). The site attracts an annual visitor count of around 5.2 million.

SUNAC CULTURAL TOURISM CITY TO BE BUILT IN NANTONG

 BY GABRIELLE


The Sunac Cultural Tourism City is to be built in the city of Nantong, in the Jiangsu Province of China. The project will have a total investment of 38 billion yuan (approx. US$5.37 billion).

The site will combine Chinese classical cultures and local cultures, with the aim of being a world-class cultural and business resort complex.

The eight principle projects of the destination include a TOD complex, ice and snow complex, one-stop experience business area, river and sea cultural town, resort hotel, international conference centre, art exhibition centre, and folk cultural village.

Sunac themed attraction projects extend across 13 cities in China. Eight of the sites have already opened, three are about to open, and one is under construction.

CEDAR FAIR ANNOUNCES SERIES OF COST-CUTTING MEASURES

 BY GABRIELLE


Cedar Fair Entertainment Company has announced it is to make a series of cost-cutting measures in response to the coronavirus crisis.

In March 2020, Cedar Fair closed all its parks. In a drive the cut costs, the company eliminated nearly all seasonal and part-time labour costs.

Part of the cost-cutting measures included the suspension of all advertising and marketing expenses. Cedar Fair also reduced its CEO’s salary by 40 per cent. Other company executives have also received 25 per cent cuts to their basic salary. All full-time members of staff at Cedar Point parks have also had their hours reduced by 25 per cent.

Capital spending of the parks has been delayed by at least $75 million on non-essential projects as part of the company’s bid to make savings to costs during these challenging and unprecedented times.

In a press statement, Richard Zimmerman, president and CEO of Cedar Fair, commented: “As we work to ensure the safety and well-being of our employees, guests and business partners from the effects of COVID-19, it’s important we also embrace measures that will ensure our financial flexibility through this difficult period.

“After social distancing recommendations by the authorities are lifted, we look forward to opening our parks as soon as reasonably possible. The actions we are announcing today help put us in a better position to do so as we navigate the unknown environment ahead,” Zimmerman added.

HOLOVIS DEVELOPS FREE SOCIAL DISTANCING APP TO HELP THEME PARKS REOPEN SAFELY

 BY GABRIELLE

Holovis, specialists in creating immersive and mixed reality to engage audiences, has developed a social distancing app. The Crowd Solo app is designed to help themed entertainment venues reopen safely following closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The app features a reservation and queue management system with real-time alerts. The purpose of the app is to ensure venues avoid crowd hotspots by providing operators with instant insights into the movement of guests.

Crowd Zero is powered by Holovis DeepSmarts data analytics engine, which visualises the movement of guests. With tracking capability, guests are made aware of social distance metrics from other visitors. Guests are alerted when they get too close to other visitors via audible and vibration feedback.

The app will be free to all single ticket destinations, including theme parks, museums, cultural centres and zoos.

Holovis is looking for feedback from the industry to support further development of the app. As Peter Cliff, creative director at Holovis, says: “We are committed to helping the industry that we love get back on its feet as quickly and as safely as possible. It looks likely that the need for some form of safe crowd management will be around for the foreseeable future meaning attractions and entertainment venues will have to adapt and learn to operate differently in order to give guests peace of mind and confidence to re-visit.

“We believe Crowd Solo could significantly assist with this process, whilst remaining socially responsible whilst creating safe places to visit. Based on informal conversations, our initial concepts have been positively received, so we are now ready to test market appetite more thoroughly. The basic app will be available in the next four to six weeks,” Cliff added.

SICHUAN ZIGONG FANTAWILD DINOSAURS KINGDOM TO OPEN IN LATE 2020

BY GABRIELLE


The Fantawild Dinosaurs Kingdom in Zigong City, Sichuan Province, China, is on target to open by the end of 2020.

Construction is now completed for the seven indoor themed areas of the theme park. The supporting infrastructures such as office building, canteen, and staff dormitories, have also been completed and are now being used. The construction of 13 interactive experience attractions has begun. Each attraction covers 5,000 to 10,000 sq. mt.

The park is centred on the ‘dinosaur culture’ of Zigong and will explore fascinating stories of dinosaur excavations in the area to create immersive, themed stories. The park will be home to high-tech replicas of of different types of dinosaurs.

Zigong City Government teamed up with Shenzhen Fantawild Group to develop the theme park, which has a total investment of 3.1 billion yuan (US$0.44 billion).

The Fantawild Dinosaurs Kingdom is expected to attract an annual visitor number of around three million.