It is hard to hide the disadvantages of homogenization to make the local theme park surpass the United States as the largest market in the world.

in 2020, the retail sales of Chinese theme parks will reach 12 billion yuan, and the average number of daily visitors will exceed 330 million, surpassing Japan and the United States to become the largest theme park market in the world.

after years of development, independent brands of theme parks in China have begun to rise, and many institutions predict that China's theme park market will surpass the United States to become the largest market in the world in the future. However, the reporter found that the ability of China's theme parks to excavate and integrate excellent Chinese culture is still weak, and theme parks with high-quality planning and long-term development ability are still rare. Homogenization, low culture, less planning and other problems have become common problems in most theme parks, and the phenomenon of speculation is prominent. Experts suggest that we should formulate medium-and long-term development plans, standardize the development of the industry in a timely manner, highlight cultural themes, and strengthen integration with the media, film and television, animation, games and other industries.

< strong > China will become the largest theme park market in the world < / strong >

recently, a number of authoritative organizations have analyzed and predicted that with the slowdown in the growth of most theme park markets in the world, the development of China's theme parks has risen against the trend, and a number of industrial enterprises have entered the top 10 in the world. In 2020, the overall number of tourists will surpass that of the United States and become the first in the world.

the National Trends report on the World Tourism Market released by Euromonitor International, a well-known consulting firm, predicts that the retail sales of China's theme parks will reach 12 billion yuan in 2020, with an average daily visitor volume of more than 330 million, surpassing Japan and the United States. to become the world's largest theme park market.

13 of the top 20 theme parks in Asia come from China, according to a report released by the theme Entertainment Association (TEA), a global tourism authority. In the face of fierce competition from Shanghai Disneyland, a number of newly opened local theme parks have shown strong competitiveness.

the latest research report of the overseas Chinese Town Group, the sponsor of the China Tourism Scenic spots Association, points out that China's theme park industry is becoming more and more prosperous and occupies an important position in the Asia-Pacific region and even the world. China's theme park has about 200 million visitors in 2016, ranking second in the world, and is expected to overtake North America to become the world's largest single theme park market by 2020.

the theme park industry in China started in the late 1980s, and now it plays an increasingly prominent role in the economy and society. First of all, the investment in theme parks has a strong pulling effect on China's economy. According to the statistics of overseas Chinese Town Group, the average investment of single large and medium-sized theme parks in China ranges from several billion yuan to tens of billions of yuan, and has a strong pulling effect on the surrounding industries and consumption. It is estimated that every yuan spent by tourists in the theme park can lead to six yuan of GDP in the local area, as well as equipment manufacturing, planning, supporting services and other industries. The huge flow of people and spending power of the resort will also significantly promote the development of commercial catering, hotel vacations, tourism products, transportation facilities, financial services and other industries in the city.

secondly, theme parks are important cultural transmission and bearing elements in our country. Wang Gang, general manager of the overseas Chinese Town Tourism Department, said that the theme park undertakes the important mission of providing culture, shaping local cultural brands, and building a cultural power. The head of the marketing department of a theme park in Guangdong said that the theme park is highly related to culture and patriotism and is a platform for cultural transmission and display in various countries. Foreign theme parks such as Disney are the display platform for patriotic education and American culture.

again, theme parks are facing fierce global competition. The top ten theme parks in the world have competed to enter the domestic market through different forms. Shanghai Disney theme park has been in operation for more than a year, and its performance is better than expected. The construction of Universal Studios in Tongzhou District of Beijing is in full swing, and more international theme park operators have or are planning to enter the domestic market, such as DreamWorks in the United States, Rakuten World in Korea, Hello Kitty theme park in Japan, and so on. The famous six Flags Entertainment Group in the United States, where Bill Gates is the largest shareholder, is also building a theme park in Chongqing, which plans to become the first international theme park to open in western China.

< strong > the rise of independent brands cannot hide the problem of homogenization < / strong >

after years of development, the independent brands of theme parks in China have begun to rise, but the cultural themes of most domestic theme parks are not prominent enough, and their integration with the media, film and television, animation, games and other industries is not close enough. In addition, the industry is lack of overall design and planning, and the phenomenon of homogenization competition is serious, resulting in the low attractiveness and reputation of theme parks. The international competitiveness is weak.

first, there is a lack of overall design and planning, and homogenization competition is prominent. There is no industry development plan for the development of theme parks in our country. compared with large international theme parks, domestic theme park developers still focus on how to increase the number of tourists. While ignoring to improve the added value of retail, games, catering and experience products. Ding Junwei, the theme park operator and general manager of Changzhou play Valley Co., Ltd., said that the structural contradiction between supply and demand in the industry still exists, except for a few top-ranked theme parks. other small and medium-sized theme parks scattered throughout the country are relatively low in scale, quality, and management.

second, the cultural excavation and integration of some theme parks are insufficient. Wang Gang believes that foreign theme parks are the deep integration and development of "tourism + culture", while the cultural themes of most domestic theme parks are not prominent enough, and their integration with the media, film and television, animation, games and other industries is not close enough. the excavation of excellent Chinese traditional culture is insufficient. This leads to the low attractiveness and reputation of our theme parks, the weak international competitiveness, and the cultural carrying capacity does not play its due role.

Xiong Xiaojie, marketing director of Changlong Group, said that Disney and Universal Studios are comprehensive theme parks, and Disney has formed a long industrial chain from film and television, television, webcast and other media content to offline theme parks, commodity licensing, education, and so on. It also produces film and television, animation products, forming a large number of independent high-quality intellectual property rights, which can be integrated into the theme park to produce greater added value. In contrast, although China's theme parks have made great progress in cultural integration in recent years, there is still a lot of potential to be tapped.

third, the ability of global operation needs to be improved. All the top theme parks in the world have taken the road of globalization without exception. Take Disney as an example, apart from the United States, it has been opened to Japan, Shanghai and other places. Universal Studios also has layouts in Singapore, Osaka, Japan and other places, and the Beijing project will also open in 2019. In China, on the other hand, more than a decade ago, the "Splendid China" theme park that CTS tried to build in Orlando, the United States, was closed after three years of dismal operation. At present, only Huaqiang Font has the only overseas project in Iran, and the operation has been authorized locally. Xiong Xiaojie said: "at present, Changlong has no idea of going out, because when you go abroad, you will have the problem of disobedience. At home, you have a good understanding of consumers and culture, but when you go to the United States, there will be a large number of people who understand better than you do. This will be an obstacle."

fourth, most of the local theme park enterprises in operation report that there are still "financing difficulties, operation difficulties and innovation difficulties". Relevant research shows that domestic theme park developers are generally faced with financing difficulties and other problems, especially the lack of long-term and low-cost financial support for small and medium-sized developers, resulting in a lack of renovation funds for many theme parks. it even turned into a finished project in the development stage. Wang Gang said that to a certain extent, the theme park industry needs the accumulation of experience, intellectual property rights and patents, as well as capital support, but at present, the accumulation of domestic theme parks is insufficient, and some new entrants lack reserves, resulting in unable to fully meet the consumption needs of domestic residents.

the person in charge of a theme park in Jiangsu said that cultural facilities are subsidized in many foreign areas, but most operators in our country cannot get financing and subsidies and only rely on private capital to operate at a loss. therefore, enterprises can only extend to other directions of the cultural industry, such as the operation of living for the aged.

finally, the shortage of talents is out of line with the domestic middle and high-end equipment. The relevant officials of many well-known theme parks in China have said that in addition to the low-end equipment in super-large theme parks and the equipment in small and medium-sized parks are domestic, middle and high-end equipment, especially those with higher technical requirements, imported equipment still occupies an absolute advantage. Industry insiders said that according to their understanding, the tourism and theme park industries feel that there is a great shortage of talents at this stage. The theme park is an economy dominated by capital and talent, of which the most lack are operational talents and cultural and creative talents.

< strong > overall planning, promoting development, classified guidance, improving quality < / strong >

theme parks are playing a more and more important role in the accelerated development of China's economic transformation and urbanization. Experts said that the problems existing in the development should be corrected in time, the development plan of China's theme parks should be formulated, and the standardized and healthy development of the main parks should be guided and promoted so as to achieve overall planning, measures to local conditions, classified guidance, and maintenance and control.

first, standardize the development of the industry. Standardize the land policy, supervise its land examination and approval, prevent some enterprises from developing commercial real estate projects in the name of theme parks, and standardize the land use behavior of theme parks. But at the same time, we should not adopt an one-size-fits-all policy, grasp the positive role of theme parks in promoting the construction of new urbanization and cultural supply-side reform, give full play to their multiple positive meanings, and set standards for land use and development and construction, so as to prevent theme parks from becoming victims of capital and profit.

second, make medium-and long-term plans. By many parties to jointly formulate the development plan of China's theme park, clear industrial positioning, strategic objectives and development direction, as a guiding document for industrial development. At the same time, establish an industrial research and exchange platform to improve the overall operation level of the industry and promote sustainable development.

third, adhere to cultural self-confidence and cultural leadership. In order to gain a firm foothold in the highly competitive theme park and even the whole tourism market, the key is to establish, excavate and create a good cultural connotation of the theme park. In all kinds of theme parks, we should avoid superficial and vulgar gimmicks, deeply cultivate the profound connotation of excellent culture, effectively transmit core values and brands, and form tourists' dual identity to leisure and entertainment and the core values of socialism in our country.

fourth, support the integration and development of local brands. Wang Gang said that national theme park brands should be actively supported, leading enterprises that can compete with international giants should be cultivated, and local and foreign enterprises should be given the same preferential treatment. At the same time, theme parks are encouraged to improve the scientific and cultural content and the level of planning and construction, improve financial support, and improve the accuracy of regulation and control policies.

< strong > Technology merges into the competitive focus of future theme parks < / strong >

interviewees said that China's theme park market is far from saturated. Whether it is Changlong in Guangzhou, which faced competition for the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland a few years ago, or the overseas Chinese Town in Shanghai, which faced competition from the newly opened Shanghai Disneyland last year, the performance is on the rise, which fully illustrates the huge potential of the Chinese market. The industry predicts that China's theme park industry will show three major trends in the future.

first, the growth rate of China's theme market will still lead the world. International experience shows that after per capita GDP exceeds 5000 US dollars, residents' demand for leisure and entertainment continues to break out, and the theme park industry is expected to benefit directly and usher in faster development opportunities. China's per capita GDP exceeded 5000 US dollars in 2011 and 8000 US dollars in 2015, which can support the rapid growth of Chinese residents' travel rate in the next decade and lay a solid economic and income foundation for the vigorous development of theme parks.

second, foreign giants continue to pour in, and local enterprises will grow rapidly in the competition. With the explosive growth of market demand for theme parks, China has become a fertile ground for theme park investment, and the competition is becoming more and more fierce. The top ten theme parks in the world, European and American group giants compete to enter through different forms, and strive to occupy a place in the world's largest theme park market in the future. At the same time, local enterprises such as overseas Chinese City, Changlong, Huaqiang, Haichang and Songcheng have formed their own business models and become the mainstay of China's theme park industry facing foreign competition.

third, the integration of science and technology has become the focus of competition between Chinese and foreign theme parks. At present, both foreign and domestic theme parks are increasingly aware that scientific and technological progress is the key to promoting product upgrading and attracting tourists to visit the park. The construction of intelligent scenic spots based on information technology, Internet of things and big data is being gradually promoted. For example, through VR film and television special effects technology, it can bring tourists an all-round immersive experience and subvert the existing tourism and entertainment experience model. Therefore, strengthening scientific and technological research and development will become the focus of winning competition in the future.

Edit: yvonne