Recent，Merlin Entertainments officially announced that the first Chinese Legoland Park will be located in the Meishan area of ​​Tianfu New District, Sichuan，Boots landed。

In the past two years，It has been rumored many times that the Legoland project will land in Beijing、Shanghai、Sichuan、Chongqing、Reports from cities such as Sanya or Wuhan，But none of them have been officially confirmed by Merlin。

According to public information，The above-mentioned Sichuan Tianfu Legoland (hereinafter referred to as "Tianfu Legoland") will start construction at the end of this year，Estimated to open in 2023，will become the first in China after opening、The third in Asia、The eleventh Legoland in the world。

Merlin Entertainments is the second largest theme park operator in the world after Disney in terms of visitor numbers，Currently in the UK、Denmark、United States、Seven countries including Japan operate eight Legoland parks (Legoland New York plans to open in 2020、Legoland Korea plans to open in 2022，is the ninth、Tenth) 。

As the first Legoland project in China，Why he finally chose Meishan？For the southwest region，What changes will the theme park market usher in？Continue to delve deeper into Legoland，For the Chinese market，What does it mean？

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According to public information，The previous location of Legoland was in Beijing、There have been “scandals” in Shanghai and other places，But in the end, Meishan, Sichuan was chosen for the first domestic project，A prefecture-level city，Why？

There may be several logics behind this，First, avoid greater competition and diversion，There is Disney in Shanghai，Universal Studios Beijing is expected to open in 2021，Although it does not necessarily form a direct competition with Legoland，But they are two very famous people after all，Have to think more about it。At the same time，In Shanghai，Merlin Entertainment already has Peppa Pig、Lego Discovery Center and other brand layouts，The establishment of Legoland may bring competition and diversion to products of the same system；Second, the southwest region is a city with great potential in the cultural tourism market，The market is expanding，Promising prospects，But international IP is still 188bet online sports betting lacking，It is possible to reserve a seat in advance when entering Legoland。

Look at the specific area where the project is located，From a geographical point of view，Sichuan Tianfu Legoland is located in Tianfu New District, Meishan City，60 kilometers from Chengdu，Convenient transportation，Has a relatively developed road and railway network，30 to 40 minutes by high-speed rail from Chengdu to Meishan，More than an hour’s drive，Chengdu has a permanent population of more than 16 million；At the same time，Meishan is more than 300 kilometers away from Chongqing，The latter has a population of more than 30 million。Including Meishan itself and the surrounding Neijiang River、Zigong and other places，The passenger flow pool in the area where Tianfu Legoland is located is at least 40 million，Provides it with a large passenger flow base。

Large theme park operators will consider population density when selecting locations for regional layout、Economic strength、Per capita disposable income、Consumption level and other factors。

Chengdu’s GDP exceeded 1 in 2018.5 trillion yuan、Growth 8%。The per capita disposable income of Chengdu residents is 36,142 yuan，8 year-on-year increase.8%。Same period，Chongqing’s GDP exceeds two trillion yuan、Growth 6%。The per capita disposable income of the city’s residents is 26,386 yuan，An increase of 9 over the previous year.2%；Meishan City’s GDP during the same period was 1256.0.2 billion yuan，Growth 7.5%。The per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents is 33,697 yuan respectively、16563 yuan，Increase by 8 respectively.2%、8.9%。

Judging from these data，The economic strength of the area where Tianfu Legoland is located、Consumption level, etc.，It’s still possible。

Lin Huanjie, President of China Theme Park Research Institute, also thinks that，Regional conditions are the primary condition to consider for entertainment and cultural tourism projects。

In his opinion，At present, the three places with the best theme entertainment projects are the Yangtze River Delta、Pearl River Delta and Bohai Rim，But the theme entertainment projects in the southwest have not yet been fully developed；The population of Southwest China is also quite large when compared to the whole country，It is a market with huge development potential。Can be expected，The next two or three years，The southwest region will usher in the peak of land planning and construction of cultural tourism projects。

Specifically，He believes that there may be three reasons for choosing Meishan for this project，First, the government and cooperative enterprises are more courageous，188bet online sports betting Meet the conditions proposed by Merlin Entertainments，From the planning area of ​​Tianfu Legoland，It has great expectations，Local governments and cooperative enterprises want to use the international theme park built by Merlin brand to boost regional value；The second is to include the "Greater Chengdu" area，As a base number of tourists，In this way, the number of tourists will be guaranteed；Third，There are no big international brands in Southwest China，Merlin Entertainment is quite influential，The government and enterprises are willing to try。On the other hand，Merlin Entertainments has not launched a Legoland project in China for so many years，Take this opportunity to achieve a breakthrough in the Legoland China project。

However，Also foreseeable，Competition in the areas surrounding Tianfu Legoland will also become increasingly fierce。

There is not only Chengdu Happy Valley in the southwest region、Chongqing Happy Valley and multiple Fantawild Parks、Haichang Ocean Park and other theme park players，Six Flags, also an international brand, will also be built and opened in Chongqing in the next few years，These big players will segment this market to varying degrees。With Wanda、Sunac、Australian Village Roadshow and other projects have landed in the southwest region，Competition in the theme park market in this region will become even more intense。

For reference，According to a source，Merlin Entertainments initially had very strict criteria for selecting a location for Legoland in China: it must be a first-tier city or a provincial capital city，The land must exceed 500 acres (of which 300 acres are expansion land)，The regional population must also meet a certain standard。 He thinks，From the perspective of the first project landing in Tianfu New District, Meishan City，Its site selection standards may have been lowered。

Prudent in selecting the location of the Legoland project and the reasons for the final location in Meishan, etc.，As of press time，Merlin did not reply to the favor。

To a certain extent，The location of Legoland has a great impact on its development space。

The above person stated，No matter which city a project of the size of Legoland is launched，Its audience and the source of tourists can only be from its surrounding areas。In other words，Despite the advantage of international brand，But Legoland is only a regional theme park，As far as Tianfu Legoland is concerned，The surrounding radiation range is about 500 kilometers，Not particularly attractive to tourists from outside Sichuan Province。Also，As an international brand，Legoland tends to cost more than the average regional theme park，There 188bet sports betting app download may be a mismatch between its income and costs，So whether the big brand Legoland will be successful in Meishan still needs time to test。

From 5 million visitors a year to millions?

The "2018 Global Theme Attractions Visitor Report" released by the International Themed Entertainment Association in April this year shows，Among the top 20 most visited parks in Europe，Three Legoland parks are on the list，Among them, Legoland Windsor has more than 2.3 million visitors，Ranked ninth，The number of visitors to Legoland in Germany and Denmark is 2.25 million each。

Legoland related people told Zhihui，In all LEGOLAND parks worldwide，California has the highest number of tourists，About 3 million people。

Want to set a higher attendance record at Tianfu Legoland?

According to information previously disclosed by the Renshou County People’s Government，The Tianfu Legoland project covers a total area of ​​240,000 square meters，The annual average number of tourists is expected to reach 5 million。The project was officially announced in 188bet online sports betting Media reports not long ago，Estimated visitor numbers to Legoland Tianfu are described as "in the millions"。

In Lin Huanjie’s opinion，The annual number of visitors to a large-scale theme park in China is 3 million, which is quite impressive，5 million visitors is a very challenging goal。5 million people a year，Average 1 day.40,000 people，But the weather、Equipment update and maintenance、After taking into account tourist discounts and other factors，It is not easy to achieve 60-80% of the set goal。

The above-mentioned Legoland related people explained to Zhihui，Most of the Legoland parks currently in operation have 2-3 million visitors。Legoland mainly focuses on visitors aged 2-12 years old，Not targeted at consumers of all ages。Sichuan Tianfu Legoland is currently in the design stage，In terms of the flow of people，The number of 5 million tourists is not an exact figure，It is possible that the surrounding transportation facilities are designed according to this equation。Legoland Resort has Phase 2 or Phase 3，When the flow of people gradually expands in the future，It will not be unable to cope with the peak passenger flow。

The person also emphasized that，Merlin Entertainments did not predict that the number of visitors to Tianfu Legoland will reach 5 million when it opens。Legoland is currently not officially open in the country，It will take some time to test the market’s reaction。For reference，Before Shanghai Disney opens，Foreign estimates of the number of visitors to the resort are relatively conservative，But the actual carrying capacity is higher than expected，Merlin also expects the number of 188bet Online Sports Betting and Casino visitors to the first Legoland in China to exceed that of other Legoland。

The person also pointed out，The visitor volume forecast for the opening of the first phase of Sichuan Tianfu Legoland Park is calculated based on the visitor volume of eight Legoland parks around the world。Put it in the domestic market，Not only the demographic dividend，There are also brand advantages，In addition, tourists’ preference and acceptance of the brand are increasing，So it is possible to exceed the predicted number of tourists after opening。

How will Legoland leverage the Chinese market?

Official announcement of Tianfu Legoland，It is also officially announced that Merlin Entertainments has taken a substantial step towards opening up the Chinese theme park market。

Disclosed by the above sources，Merlin Entertainment is expected to launch five or six more projects in China，Except Meishan City, Sichuan，He thinks other possible locations include Sanya、Shenzhen、Wuhan、Fuzhou and other places。

These areas are either well-known tourist destinations，Either provincial capital city，Or economically developed first-tier cities，The overall compliance with the large frame requirements of Legoland。

But as of press time，In response to questions about Merlin Entertainment’s plans for its next theme park project in China，No reply from Merlin Entertainments。

Visible is，Legoland business to Merlin Entertainments，Of great significance。Legoland’s business is growing rapidly，Both net profit and operating profit rank first among the three major businesses，And contributes a large proportion of Merlin’s revenue。2018 financial report display，15.6 million visitors to Merlin Entertainments’ Legoland parks worldwide，Revenue is 6.£3.7 billion，Accounting for 38% of the group’s total revenue。

Continue to expand the territory of Legoland，It is inevitable，The Chinese market should be the focus。

Merlin Entertainment Group CEO Nick Varney was interviewed last year，When talking about the global expansion strategy of its brands，Merlin plans to build 20 Legoland parks around the world in the future，At least 5 of them will be launched in China。He also predicted，By around 2020，More than half of the world’s largest cities will be in China，This is undoubtedly good news for Merlin’s brands including Legoland。

After Lego’s parent company joined hands with Blackstone Group and others to acquire Merlin Entertainment Group，The future signing of Legoland in China may be completed faster。

A report released by Euromonitor International, a global consulting agency，China is expected to surpass the United States to become the world’s largest theme 188bet sports betting app download park market in 2020，China’s theme park retail sales may reach US$12 billion by then，367% increase compared to 2010。The report also predicts，The number of tourists in China may reach 3 in 2020.300 million visitors。According to the forecast of The Economist think tank，Three-quarters of China’s population will enter the middle class by 2030。

Lin Huanjie’s analysis，Merlin Entertainment adopts an asset-light model in China，That is, cultural tourism companies introduce the Legoland project with the support of the local government，Merlin Entertainment obtains brand licensing fees，And obtain a certain proportion of tickets after the theme park opens。

The information obtained by Zhihui is also displayed，According to the terms of the Tianfu Legoland Project Agreement，The partners will provide funds for the construction of Tianfu Legoland, the required infrastructure and surrounding commercial development，And Merlin Entertainments will participate in the resort development，And operate the project under management contract arrangements。

The asset-light model of theme parks has many advantages，But projects must be rolled out one after another，It’s not easy either，For example, in the context of the theme park policy to prevent real estateization，Local government’s balanced consideration of project models、Substantial financial investment from project partners、Operation prospects of the project, etc.，It may need to be analyzed in detail depending on the situation。

From this dimension，Tianfu Legoland as a "knock on the door"，Implementation status and subsequent operational results, etc.，It is expected that Legoland will make more “enclosure” progress in China，Has a big impact。

The author of this article, Li Haiqiang, is an overseas market analyst at Zhihui.