How can the local theme parks break down with the influx of international “top stream”

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In recent years, the theme park brands such as Disney and Beijing Universal Studios in Shanghai have poured into the domestic market, and the local theme parks represented by Changlong, Huaqiang Fang and other brands are also growing. International brand theme parks have become the “top class” in the industry with their strong volume and long-term accumulated reputation. In contrast, there is still a gap in IP incubation and operation of local theme parks.

Beijing Urban sub center recently announced that it will further promote the construction of phase II project of Beijing universal theme park this year. Since its opening in September last year, the first phase of Beijing universal theme park has once become one of the most popular scenic spots in China. The operating revenue of that year reached 1.645 billion yuan, received more than 2.1 million tourists, and driven the development of surrounding supporting industries.

In recent years, theme parks have become the hot words in the travel industry. The theme parks introduced from abroad such as Disney, Beijing, Universal Studios, Shanghai and so on have become the top stream of the industry by their strong body weight and long standing fame. In contrast, local theme parks still have gaps in IP incubation and operation. How can they break the game in the face of competitive pressure?

The number and quality of theme parks are rising

Recently, the news that Lego theme park will officially land in Fangshan District of Beijing spread like wildfire. At present, there are three LEGO Parks under construction in China, which are located in Meishan, Shanghai and Shenzhen, Sichuan. In addition, the first paramount theme park in China will also land in Kunming, Yunnan Province.

The “Splendid China” miniature scenic spot in Shenzhen, which opened in 1989, is considered to be the first theme park in China. After entering the new century, international theme park brands have poured into the domestic market, and local theme parks represented by Changlong, Huaqiang Fangte and other brands are also growing. At present, about 3000 theme parks have been developed in China.

In addition to the increase in number, the quality of theme parks is also rising. The popularity of Shanghai Disneyland, which opened in 2016, has been high and has been in the leading position in domestic theme parks for a long time. Universal Beijing Theme Park has taken 20 years from preparation to completion, which has brought many surprises to tourists.

Local theme parks are also becoming more and more mature. Some theme parks such as Haichang, Changlong and Huaqiang Fangte can be compared with world-class theme parks in terms of hardware. Unlike international brand theme parks that prefer big cities, most local theme parks aim at small and medium-sized cities.

Entertainment facilities are available, but IP is insufficient

The soul of the theme park lies in the theme, and IP is the core content of the theme. Insiders pointed out that although the scale of local theme parks is growing, compared with internationally renowned theme parks, IP is not very “able to play”.

Wei Xiang, Professor of the Institute of financial strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the worker’s Daily that theme parks appeared in large numbers in urban and suburban areas after 2000, but they were mainly comprehensive theme parks that appeared in cooperation with the development of tourism real estate and commercial real estate. The development investment of professional theme parks was obviously insufficient, and the attention to IP development was also insufficient.

Xiaoxiao, a tourist who has experienced dozens of theme parks, said that compared with large international theme parks, many local theme parks have all kinds of entertainment facilities such as roller coasters, Ferris wheels and jumping machines, but ignore the linkage with IP and immersive scene building, and lack interactive performance programs. “The theme is not obvious enough, and it is not very different from ordinary amusement parks”.

In recent years, relying on the “bear haunting” IP, Fangte theme park has achieved high popularity. Recently, bubble mart, a well-known domestic trendy game enterprise, will also “test the water” offline theme park. Some people also questioned that it has IP but lacks stories.

Need to enhance content R & D

Wei Xiang believes that there are obvious differences between theme parks and tourism real estate. The development logic of theme parks is mainly based on the industrialization of content products and the intellectual property right of content product research and development, that is, IP. However, content research and development needs long-term accumulation and large investment, and local theme parks still have a long way to go.

“Whether it’s Shanghai Disney or Beijing Universal Studios, they are sitting on a large number of mature IP, which is different from most of the real estate companies that run theme parks in China. They both have strong content R & D capabilities, and can continuously introduce new products that meet the needs of the market.” Wei Xiang said that if local theme parks want to strengthen the IP of content products, they should find the correct development logic of theme parks and compete in the right direction.

International “top stream” theme parks have put pressure on local counterparts, but they also bring learning opportunities, which is conducive to the whole theme park industry. When talking about competition, the relevant person in charge of Changzhou China Dinosaur Park pointed out that China’s market is actually very large, Chinese consumers have many tastes and preferences, and there are still many opportunities for local theme parks.

Wu Ruoshan, deputy director of the cultural tourism policy research center of China Institute of labor relations, believes that if local theme parks want to highlight the encirclement, they need to dig deeply into the connotation of Chinese traditional culture, combine modern fashion trend elements, create Chinese brand symbols and tell Chinese cultural stories. In addition, we should increase support in the fields of policy, finance, capital, talent, technology and basic research, promote the consumption of IP authorized derivatives and supporting facilities, and strengthen the immersive and interactive high-tech amusement experience and the production and presentation means of new performance content.

Tao Wen

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