Theme park to create about 10,000 jobs 12 million tourists may visit Beijing resort each year starting in 2020
BEIJING — Zongshen Group, a manufacturer of generators and engines, plans to purchase a stake in the biggest seaplane airline in the Maldives this year, in an expansion aimed at becoming the world’s No 1 operator of the aircraft, Chairman Zuo Zongshen said.
The company proposes to spend “billions of yuan” to buy into the Maldivian carrier, Zuo said, without elaborating. The group, based in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing, is also in talks to acquire a stake in Kenmore Air, a firm that operates seaplanes for scenic tours in the Seattle area.
Zongshen is among Chinese businesses at the forefront of global acquisitions, snapping up companies engaged in entertainment to airlines and hotels as they seek brands, technology and management expertise.
Chinese acquisitions in the United States reached a record $76 billion in 2016, led by the likes of Dalian Wanda Group Co and aviation major HNA Group Co.
A potential target in the Maldives could be Trans Maldivian Airways, which conducts more than 100,000 flights per year with 44 seaplanes and calls itself the world’s largest Twin Otter operator on land and sea, according to its website. Blackstone Group LP is among its investors.
A theme park being built by Universal Parks & Resorts and a Chinese State-owned enterprise will start recruiting employees in the second half of 2019, as it seeks to hire about 10,000 employees for the first phase of the project.
The theme park, which is expected to cost $8 billion and the first phase of which will be opened in 2020, will exceed its peer in Orlando, Florida, in scale, Duan Qiang, chairman of Beijing Tourism Group, told Beijing Daily. The company is one of the shareholders in Beijing Shouhuan Cultural Tourism Investment Co Ltd, which partners with Universal for the project.
Duan said the Beijing park’s first phase, spanning an area of 1.2 square kilometers, will include two hotels, which can provide 1,200 to 1,400 rooms. A large number of people will be hired to fill vacancies in the park’s maintenance and service departments.
Beijing Tourism Group confirmed the news on hiring to China Daily on Tuesday. The park, located in the city’s Tongzhou district, is expected to attract 12 million tourists each year.
“Chinese cultural elements will account for 35 percent of the theme park, expressed in firework shows, parades and other activities,” Duan was quoted as saying.
Park equipment will be sourced from all over the world, especially from European companies, according to Duan. Chinese suppliers will be favored if they are able to provide world-class TheWizardingWorldofHarryPotter quality products.
The Beijing Universal theme park started construction in 2015, and its first phase is expected to be completed by 2019.
China’s theme parks are expected to generate $12 billion in sales in 2020, thanks to the growing middle class, according to London-based market intelligence firm Euromonitor International Ltd. In 2015, the figure was $4.6 billion.
As of June, China had more than 2,000 theme parks, and more than 300 of them involve investment of more than 50 million yuan ($7.23 million), according to a report by the Beijing Commerce Research Institute.
Among them are major players such as Dalian Wanda Group’s Nanchang Wanda City and the Shanghai Disneyland.
Li Duo, deputy director of the Beijing Commerce Research Institute, said competition in big cities is very intense, and there is massive growth potential for theme parks in third-tier cities
“Beijing Universal Park is going on quite well just as scheduled. Once completed, it will become a strong competitor given its brand appeal among Chinese consumers. But it will not be easy to generate satisfying profits in the short term,” Li said.
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