Malaysia
A boost to secondary locales
S Puvaneswary
Fast becoming the theme park capital of South-east Asia, the growing crop of theme parks in Malaysia  has enhanced the country as a family-friendly destination and spread tourist footfalls out from Kuala Lumpur to secondary destinations.

Ally Bhoonee, executive director at World Avenues, said: “The opening of new theme parks in Perak and Johor have helped us to sell Malaysia to overseas partners with itineraries that go beyond Kuala Lumpur.

“Theme parks such as Legoland Malaysia Resort and Sanrio Hello Kitty Town have helped promote Johor to families. In the past, Johor used to be a passing destination into Singapore,” noted Bhoonee.

“The Lost World of Tambun in Perak has helped us develop one- and two-night itineraries in the state, whereas in the past Ipoh used to be a stopover lunch destination for tours heading to Penang,” he added. “With Movie Animation Park Studios (MAPS) opening in July, it will give us another major attraction to sell in Perak.”

Developed to a tune of RM450 million (US$111.6 million), MAPS is the first  animation theme park in Asia with attractions and characters entirely based on cartoon animation themes, according to CEO Darren McLean.

Calvin Ho, senior general manager of Sunway Theme Parks, welcomes the complimentary effect the upcoming MAPS will bring to business at Sunway’s Lost World of Tambun and Sunway Lagoon.

He explained: “More marketing dollars invested in attracting tourists to the country can only be good for the economy. Tourists may want to visit more than one theme park during their entire stay.”

As well, John Chan, business development director, Kris International Traveltours, said the recent growth of theme parks linked to international brands such as Nickelodeon (see Tried & Tested on page 16), Legoland and Hello Kitty Town will grow a new segment of tourists who do not see shopping as a main draw.

Singapore
Building on family-friendly reputation
Paige Lee Pei Qi
While the cosmopolitan Singapore is renowned to be a shopper’s paradise, its appeal as a theme park destination rocketed when Universal Studios Singapore (USS) in Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) debuted in 2010.

According to Michael Chong, manager of global business at Star Holiday Mart, travellers who enjoy theme park attractions in Singapore are mostly families from South-east Asia and China.

Judy Lum, group vice president for sales and marketing with Singapore’s Tour East Group, share similar observations: “Most visitors are groups of young people travelling together or multi-generation families from India, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and regional countries.

“Singapore’s close proximity allows them to have holidays at theme parks of international standards as most Asian working class do not have long annual holidays to travel to the US or Europe to enjoy such theme parks,” she elaborated.

Apart from USS, the eight-hectare Marine Life Park in RWS has pulled in large numbers of tourists too.

Leong Yue Weng, general manager of interactive indoor edutainment centre KidZania Singapore, which just opened at Palawan Beach on Sentosa Island last month, said theme park operators are enticed by Singapore’s positioning as a family-friendly destination.

However, competition is just at bay. Said Star Holiday Mart’s Chong: “Singapore faces regional and destination competition for theme parks – an example is the upcoming Shanghai Disneyland which will compete with Singapore for theme park tourists.”

Hence, to sustain Singapore’s appeal as a theme park destination, Lum urged theme parks to always “reinvent and refresh” their attractions and keep costs “affordable for surrounding countries” as the Singapore dollar is just too strong against the regional currencies.

Japan
Regular updates fan domestic love affair
Julian Ryall
The Japanese love affair with theme parks started with the opening of Tokyo Disneyland in 1983. Since then, theme parks have grown to become a key part of the domestic tourism industry, with three parks – Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo DisneySea and Universal Studios Japan – in the world’s top five attractions by attendance.

Japan witnessed a boom in theme parks in the 1980s, Motohisa Tachikawa, spokesman for JTB, pointed out, but not all the smaller ones survived the economic downturn of the following decade.

“Parks need to open something new every year or, at most, every two years because that is what keeps visitors returning regularly,” he said. “Repeat visitors are critically important and if someone feel that one visit was sufficient, they won’t want to return.”

Universal Studios Japan has experienced just that surge in visitor numbers. The opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in 2014 led to a 28 per cent increase in admissions over the following year. To meet the demand, work has recently begun on a new high-rise hotel.

Huis Ten Bosch, the Dutch theme park in Kyushu, will introduce the new Kingdom of Robots attraction this year, a move that “will definitely bring in new visitors”, said Kotaro Takada, director of the corporate planning department.

“Last year, around 200,000 of our guests were from overseas and we’re seeing foreign visitor numbers increasing by as much as 10 per cent a year,” said Chanmum Om, who oversees the park’s foreign promotion efforts. Key to that has been the establishment of offices in South Korea and Taiwan to bring in guests.

Foreign visitors have also helped to increase overall numbers to Japan’s theme parks, Johta Takahashi, USJ’s spokesman said, with the sector in general benefitting from an increase in LCCs flying into Japan, relaxation on visa regulations and the relative weakness of the yen in recent months.

At the same time, more Japanese have been visiting after being dissuaded from travelling abroad due to recent terrorist incidents, primarily in European cities.

China
Theme park boom
Caroline Boey
International theme park operators continue to make a beeline for China as the country becomes a key target market, with Italian luxury car manufacturer Ferrari the latest to announce plans to build a branded theme park in China.

For now, all eyes are on the June 16 opening of the Shanghai Disney Resort, which is three times the size of the 28ha Hong Kong Disneyland Resort (HKDL).

This will this set a new benchmark for theme parks and add a new international dimension to China’s offerings, according to Joy Liao, sales director, Inbound Center, Century Holiday International Travel Group.

Kris Van Goethem, managing director, Asian Trails China, said it would be logical for the domestic market to shift focus to the Shanghai Disney Resort.

“It is the first park of such high international standard to open here. It is also more expensive for the Chinese to travel (to Hong Kong for HKDL) compared with domestic flights to Shanghai.”

A Legoland park is currently being built in Shanghai by Merlin Entertainments, which already has five attractions in China, with another two (Madame Tussauds and Sea Life aquarium in Chongqing) due to open soon.

Opening in 2019 will be the Universal Studios in Beijing – the third in Asia after Osaka and Singapore – and at 120ha, it is reportedly the biggest in the world, according to a China National Tourism Administration report.

The homegrown theme park scene, meanwhile, is dominated by Chimelong Group and Overseas Chinese Town (OCT) Group.

Guangzhou Chimelong Tourist Resort is the group’s first world-class comprehensive resort housing several of China’s top theme parks such as Chimelong Paradise, Chimelong International Circus, Chimelong Water Park and Chimelong Safari Park.

OCT has established a network of theme parks across China over the past two decades, including Shenzhen’s Window of the World (which showcases replicas of world-famous icons) and China’s first amusement park chain under the Happy Valley brand.

Violet Wang, destination manager at Pacific World, opined that China’s massive domestic market will assure business for the various theme parks in southern China and the Yangtze River Delta.

Hong Kong
Buckling up for rollercoaster ride
Prudence Lui
Hong Kong Disneyland Resort (HKDL) and Ocean Park Hong Kong saw visitor numbers drop last year, but players are downplaying speculations that the opening of Shanghai Disney Resort may further dampen business.

HKDL’s sales director for Hong Kong and International, Martin Leung, said: “We see the opening of new theme parks in the region as advantageous because their presence will help create top-of-mind awareness of theme parks and the Disney brand among guests.”

Similarly, chief executive of Ocean Park Hong Kong, Tom Mehrmann, believes that more theme parks in China will cater to the rising number of the Chinese middle class while strengthening the region’s appeal for longhaul tourists.

“A critical mass of attractions will actually (improve the appeal) of tourist destinations, which is exactly what has been happening in southern China that includes Hong Kong and Macau,” he said.

Still, it seems the industry senses competition from neighbouring destinations and has sought to add new attractions to keep visitor experience fresh.

For instance, HKDL’s Star Wars-themed special events will be introduced this summer, offering rides such as Hyperspace Mountain.

Ocean Park recently launched free Wi-Fi service and has in the pipeline, two new hotels – Hong Kong Ocean Park Marriott Hotel and The Fullerton Hotel @ Ocean Park; scheduled for completion by 2017 and 2020 respectively – and the 64,381m2 Ocean Park Water World (2H2018).

W Travel, managing director, Wing Wong, feels that the theme park market is already mature. “There is not much room for big expansion given (Hong Kong’s) shortage of land. I believe there won’t be any dramatic growth of visitors but new facilities may help to drive more visitors.”

Macau
Casinos still primary attraction
Prudence Lui
The theme park industry is unlikely to exist of get off the ground in Macau, as the small territory – with a minuscule population of just 650,000 – is already dominated by the gaming industry and its integrated resorts, said observers.

John Ap, visiting professor at the Institute for Tourism Studies, said: “The current lull in the casino business would not provide the impetus or likely business environment to warrant development of any large-scale theme park that would be financially viable.

“What potential exists for Macau are family entertainment centres (FECs). Studio City is one of the first casinos to introduce this concept with its current Batman Dark Ride, Golden Reel ferris wheel and Warner Bros Fun Zone. It is expected other casinos will follow suit.”

However, FECs remain secondary, not drawcard attractions, and this is what Macau will be primarily limited to, he added.

Things might change with the debut of Macau’s first theme park, Planet J. Armed with Magic Scroll – a smartphone loaded with apps and connected to a master computer – participants can adopt fantasy personae to act out a series of customised challenges to drive away malevolent forces from the mythical Stone Kingdom.

On the other hand, CITS Macau’s international department manager Cooper Zhang thinks Macau could have emulated Hong Kong in the theme park field. “Macau needs (theme parks) to draw more youth and family visitors. Since land is scarce here, the scale can’t compare to Hong Kong but in terms of creativity, it’s possible to focus on educational and cultural element given the existing commercial tourism offers,” he said.

Gray Line Tours, managing director, Andy Wu, concurred: “In the past, all attention went to the fast-growing gaming industry and other business sectors were neglected. Now, the pace of the gaming industry has slowed and the government stressed on diversification of tourism offerings so I believe more opportunities for theme park development in future.”

This article was first published in TTG Asia, May 6, 2016 issue, on page 15. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.

Has the Philippines’ colourful tourism campaign, which proclaims ‘fun’ as its slogan, lived up to its expectations for the trade? Rosa Ocampo finds out

The Department of Tourism’s (DoT) It’s More Fun in the Philippines campaign is a marketing success and has raised the country’s profile as a leisure destination, but in the years since its inception in 2012 there are questions if the slogan has been an overpromise.

Philippine tourism undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr contended that the 10 per cent average growth in foreign arrivals during the last five years is higher than the average growth rate of global (4.5 per cent) and Asian (five per cent) tourism, putting the country “above the curve”.

Proof of the campaign’s marketing success, he added, also lies in the numerous citations and awards the destination has received. In 2014, the campaign took up third spot in the Warc 100, an annual ranking of the world’s best marketing campaign.

With 55 million domestic tourist arrivals versus just 5.3 million foreign arrivals last year, a major success of the campaign can be attributed to its popularity among the Filipinos themselves, opined David Keen, CEO of Quo, specialist branding and communications agency for travel and tourism.

The campaign struck a chord among the Filipinos who created 80,000 memes out of it; many companies have even taken the initiative to stamp “It’s More Fun” into their own marketing.

Yet the campaign also presents a “very one-dimensional image” of the Philippines, Keen surmised, portraying the nation as one that simply revolves around fun with colourful culture, vibrant entertainers and fun-loving people.

“The Philippines needs to be taken far more seriously,” he said, emphasising the need for a multidimensional country brand that allows for wider range of experiences and associations.

“Caves, jungles, beaches, festivals, scuba diving and fun certainly have a place in this brand, but the brand should be complex enough to have room for everything else the Philippines has to offer”, said Keen, citing the strong economy and booming construction sector as other facets that could be included in the country branding to enhance the destination’s attraction to different types of travellers.

Keen added: “In the imagination of a potential traveller, associating a country with a strong economy, profit and productivity opens up new possibilities of experiences. A stable domestic base will then be attractive for foreign big brands, and the cycle continues.

“While (the campaign) does not portray the Philippines negatively, its current incarnation does not even begin to capture how this moment is an exciting one for the Philippines in terms of business, growth and development”, he explained.

Focusing on the fun factor has its limitations too, pointed out Mina Gabor, former Philippine tourism secretary and now president of the International School of Sustainable Tourism. The campaign was, for example, was held back for months after super typhoon Haiyan wreaked parts of the Visayas in 2013.

But Bengzon, while agreeing that the Philippines has many qualities other than fun, saw the need to craft a clear tourism campaign message without diluting it with other dimensions.

“It’s very clear for tourism: the distinct advantage of the Philippines is the ability of Filipinos to provide the fun experience and that is what we highlight in the campaign… From a marketing standpoint, you have to look at the lead proposition – which is fun,” he asserted.

Bengzon also claimed that the campaign, contrary to claims that it’s targeted mainly at leisure travellers, “cuts across all travellers be it leisure, visiting friends and relatives, education and business”.

Branding aside, has the campaign travellers’ expectations of fun and led to more business for the trade then?

Jackeline Navarro, manager of Palawan-based Inland Tours and Travel, said that the campaign helped improve their business and made Palawan more popular, echoing the general trade sentiments that the campaign was effective.

However, the Philippines’ infrastructure woes continue to cap tourism growth as difficulty of access deters foreign visitors with limited vacation time.

For Navarro, the campaign impact would be better if there was better connection within Palawan itself and with other destinations. There is no flight between Puerto Princesa and Busuanga, two gateways to Palawan, with only a twice-weekly charter flight between another gateway, El Nido and Busuanga.

Bernadette de Leon, general manager of Amiable Intertours, qualified that the campaign is questionable in many ways. “How can you have fun when flights are delayed or cancelled, road traffic is chaotic, infrastructure is not world standard, beggars are in the streets and garbage is everywhere?”

Sources interviewed by TTG Asia mentioned three main challenges: inadequate infrastructure, connectivity and the China factor.

What is sorely missing is a new airport in Manila. Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), where 72 per cent of all international passengers pass through, is already heavily congested, causing frequent flight delays and cancellations. However, apart from palliatives like expanding and improving the passenger terminals of NAIA, the government still hems and haws on plans for a replacement airport.

Infrastructure in the Philippines is improving, with secondary airports and major thoroughfares being built and improved. The DoT is working with the Department of Public Works and Highways to construct and maintain access roads to major tourist destinations.

Air connectivity has improved substantially since the DoT formed its route development team in 2013, which liaises directly with airlines to persuade them to fly to the Philippines. Further improvements are expected with the implementation of the ASEAN single aviation policy, allowing foreign airlines to mount flights to Manila, not just to secondary destinations.

While It’s More Fun in the Philippines is a brilliant campaign, the destination is still sorely missing out on the China market, noted PATA CEO Mario Hardy. The Philippines’ political tension with the Asian behemoth has not aided the inbound tourism sector.

“Forget about politics and just have discussions directly with tour operators and travel agencies in China,” advised Hardy, urging the Philippine private sector to band together and conduct joint trade missions to China.

Should It’s More Fun in the Philippines campaign be continued or is a change in order four years after its launch?

While some industry players want to maintain the status quo because of its obvious effectiveness, Amiable Intertours’ de Leon strongly favours reverting to WOW (World of Wonders) Philippines campaign, the predecessor of It’s More Fun in the Philippines.

“The word ‘fun’ will be abused when the truth of the matter is disappointing and questionable,” she said. “The Philippines has more to offer than any other country in Asia in terms of resources and attractions, yet the long list of ‘buts, ifs and we hope things will get better’ is still a long way.”

Said Keen: “A brand is only successful if it can live up to the promise and expectations it wants others to have.

“Hopefully in the near future, the Philippines will be more than just fun.”

This article was first published in TTG Asia, May 6, 2016 issue, on page 6. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.