The theme park industry in China is growing, and its enormous market potential has drawn the interest of tycoons both at home and abroad.
As the $5.5 billion Shanghai Disney Resort, by the world's largest entertainment company, Disney, opens in Pudong, Shanghai on June 16, the company has found itself in the middle of a battle for market share with its Chinese counterpart and business partner the Dalian Wanda Group.
Launching theme parks has become a growing trend in China in recent years. For example, in the one year between 2012 and 2013, 14 new theme parks opened on the Chinese mainland, and among the top 20 amusement parks in Asia, 11 are in China, according to a xinhuanet.com report in June, 2014. Also, it is expected that by 2020, over 60 theme parks will be opened across the country, a December 2014 report by news portal ifeng.com revealed.
Nowadays, the competition between Disney and Wanda is more conspicuous. Days before Disney was to have its official opening in Shanghai, Dalian Wanda Group's Chairman Wang Jianlin unveiled plans to build 15 large theme parks in China over the next four years.
Further stoking the flames of competition, Wang spoke of his low expectation regarding the possible success of the Shanghai Disney Resort in a recent China Central Television (CCTV) interview. Describing Disney as a "tiger," Wang said that the tiger is not as strong as Wanda, which is "a group of wolves."
"Disney has a misconception about the Chinese market and therefore cannot compete with Wanda in the sector," Wang said in the interview.
Wang also said that the Shanghai Disney Resort will not make money within 10 to 20 years.
"Disney can only expand itself based on previous intellectual property rights and rarely develops new business models and new stuff," said Wang during the CCTV interview.
Although Wanda and Disney have collaborative business arrangements in sectors such as the movie industry, Wang's pronouncements show how competitive the theme park market in China is getting.
Some industry insiders believe that Wang's assertion about the Shanghai Disney Resort not making money anytime soon is reasonable and evidential. They cite as their example, the Disney resort in Hong Kong which, although it has been very popular for the past 10 years, is still not making money, the Beijing Morning Post reported on May 31.
Compared with the high ticket prices of Disney's theme parks, Wanda theme parks are more affordable and meet the expectations of many visitors. Also, Wanda's theme parks are mostly in second-tier cities such as Chengdu in Sichuan Province and Qingdao in Shandong Province, making top entertainment available for more people.
The first Wanda theme park opened in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province in September 2015. In light of Wang's plan, Wanda will build 15 to 20 parks across the country to compete with Disney in China, the China Economic Weekly reported on June 7, 2016.
