As a cultural and tourism industry operator，We all look forward to moving forward on this、Every major event in the ever-changing cultural and tourism era、Every key node，Have more understanding，Know its transformation、Hot and cold and trends。

here，Zhihui coordinates and analyzes the latest trends in cultural tourism during the week，Trying to find from these living elements the latest events or information in each field that are worth recording，Based on a certain framework、Perspective or Dimension，Let’s explore what they bring to the development of the cultural tourism industry，The value points brought to us。

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Quotes of cultural and tourism giants

This week’s giant market focuses on Merlin Entertainment’s new Legoland layout。

Recently,Merlin Entertainments announces construction of new Legoland resort in Belgium，Estimated to open in 2027。The new resort area and supporting facilities cover an area of ​​70 hectares (1050 acres)，And reserve 200,000 square meters of land for future expansion and development。

It is reported thatThe construction cost of this project is 3.Between 700 million and 400 million euros，When completed, it will become the fourth in Europe、The 14th Legoland in the world。Currently，Merlin Entertainment is already in the United States、Japan、UK、10 paradise resorts opened in seven countries including Germany，Mostly owned or operated by Merlin Entertainments。

2020年月，The world’s largest Legoland New York Legoland opens；March this year，Legoland Korea opens，The three Legoland parks under construction in China are also scheduled to open before 2025，Following Sichuan、After Shanghai and Shenzhen，Beijing is also rumored to be the next city to be deployed。How many Legoland parks will Merlin Entertainments build?？Why the sudden outbreak，Accelerate investment and layout of global Legoland (and other short-distance attractions)？

In fact，Back in August 2018，Merlin Entertainment Group CEO Nick·Nick Varney once said，Merlin plans to build 20 Legoland parks around the world in the future，At least 5 of them will be launched in China。

Legoland’s main target audience is children aged 2-12 years old，Family families have always been the main force of consumption。Looking from the 10 resorts currently open，The number of tourists in each resort is roughly between 2 million and 2.5 million，Legoland Dubai Resort will be less，California Paradise Resort will have more。The first Denmark Billund Amusement Park is expected to have 200,000-250,000 visitors before its opening，As a result, it received 600,000 tourists in the first year，Far beyond expectations。

The more distinctive projects of Legoland Resort include Driving School、Legoland Express、DRAGON Coaster, etc.，Water park rides are also popular，Relatively new experience projects include the interactive dark ride Ninjago The Ride, etc.，Most projects in the resort are interactive.

For the brand Paradise Paradise,Learning through play is its biggest advantage，With over 50 years of operational experience，Through the linkage with LEGO building blocks，Making it the world’s leading operator of family entertainment attractions。Miniland, featuring urban architectural landmarks from various countries, has always been the core product of every Legoland park。

Merlin Entertainment has a resort theme park、Three businesses of Legoland and short-distance attractions，Legoland’s business has grown rapidly in recent years，Both profit and operating profit rank first among the three major businesses，And contributes a large proportion of Merlin’s revenue。Company executives said，The future goal of Merlin Entertainment is，Europe and UK、The three major regions of Asia Pacific and North America each account for one-third of the business。

This approach is not difficult to understand。First，LEGOLAND、Madame Tussauds、Legoland Discovery Center and other brands have obvious international attributes，The necessity of expanding business globally is self-evident；Second，Local business in the UK is growing slowly，Affected by Brexit、Affected by weather and other factors，Global layout can spread risks，Reduce the cyclical impact of the above adverse conditions on operating performance。

However，For sustainable and long-term development in the future，Merlin Entertainment investors made a more critical decision three years ago。

June 2019，U.S. private equity fund Blackstone Group, Danish toy giant Lego Group family company Kolkeby Group and Canadian pension fund CPPIB acquire Merlin Entertainments for 6 billion pounds (approximately US$7.6 billion)，Colkeby Group’s shareholding increased to 50%，Received 29 when selling Legoland business to Merlin Entertainments in 2005.7% shares。Subsequently，Merlin Entertainments delists from London Stock Exchange.

An industry insider said，Investors and management believe Merlin Entertainments’ market value is undervalued，After delisting and privatization，Management and investors are not subject to stock market and other restrictions，Free your hands and feet to invest and expand your business。On the other hand，The voice of the LEGO Group family company has been further strengthened，In terms of brand influence，The brand influence of LEGO brick toys around the world can provide more information and reference on consumer market trends and consumer preferences for the new LEGO Park。

Not long ago，Blackpool Council selects Merlin Entertainments to operate Sandcastle Waterpark, the UK’s largest indoor water park；Malaysia Paradise Park also recently announced its 10th anniversary expansion plan；Merlin Entertainments also recently announced a new generation of LEGO Discovery Center in Washington、Opening in Boston and Atlanta in 2023......Not just Legoland，Merlin Entertainment will go further and further in laying out global themed entertainment projects through investment (or even mergers and acquisitions)。

Destination Investment Barometer

This week’s destination investment barometer focuses on the performance of foreign theme park markets in the first half of the year。

Recent，OCT A、Huaqiang Fantawild、Haichang Ocean Park、Songcheng Entertainment and other domestic theme park operators have announced their half-year results，Affected by the epidemic from February to May，Most companies’ revenue or net profit has dropped significantly，The leading OCT A tourism comprehensive business revenue exceeded 10 billion in the first half，But down 44% year-on-year，Haichang Ocean Park’s revenue dropped by more than 80%。

Little affected by epidemic prevention and control policies，The business of major theme parks in the United States in the first half，Especially the obvious recovery in the second quarter。But US domestic oil、The rising prices of natural gas and other products have caused the cost of living to increase，Inflation remains high，Possible economic recession like“Damocles”Same as the sword。Many families are affected by oil、The price of food and other daily necessities has increased and expenditures have been tightened。Among them，Oil prices are twice what they were a year and a half ago。

Under the intertwined influence of these two factors，Consumers’ choice is self-evident。They will save on living costs，Reduce the budget for entertainment and leisure activities in theme parks as much as possible。Not only that，Some theme park enthusiasts may not renew their season or annual memberships。

More complicated is,Some theme park giants also use this opportunity to increase prices for season or annual memberships，I kind of want to learn Disney，Ticket prices increase every year，The number of tourists or revenue does not decrease but increases。For tourists，A very practical question is，A designated amount of money，Just add more gas to the car，Let’s buy some goods or meals in the theme park？

Let’s take a look at the performance of the five major theme park giants in the United States in the first half of the year。There is a seemingly contradictory phenomenon:The performance of the company’s theme park business has improved，But the stock prices of some companies have not been recognized by the market。

The second quarter financial report released by Comcast, the parent company of Universal Studios, shows，Universal Studios theme park business part is a great success。Mainly reflected in，Many of its Universal Studios theme parks are recovering well，Revenue increased by 65% ​​to US$1.8 billion compared with the same period last year，Among them, the average spending of tourists at Universal Cinemas in the United States and Universal Studios Japan increased。However，Comcast shares fell after the earnings report.

Also，The theme park business segment’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) also set a single-quarter historical record，From 4 in the same period last year.USD 1.1 billion increased to 6.US$3.2 billion。Better news is，The total number of visitors received by Universal Studios theme park is also higher than the same period in 2019 before the epidemic。 

Disney’s third quarter financial report as of June 30，The company’s overall revenue increased by 50% year-on-year，Among the parks、Experience and consumer products segment revenue increased by 70% to US$7.4 billion。If you do not use the reservation system launched during the epidemic to plan the number of tourists，There may be more visitors to Disneyland，This is what the company has repeatedly emphasized，No longer targeting the number of visitors that causes congestion in the park，Reduce passenger flow，Give tourists a better experience，Let them consume more。

The advantages of Disney and Universal Studios as resort theme parks are，Tourists generally book tickets and accommodation in advance，Some subsequent unexpected events，As long as it does not affect travel，They usually follow the plan。However，For Cedar Club Entertainment、For players of the three major regional theme parks, SeaWorld and Six Flags Entertainment，A large proportion of tourists make impulsive purchases，They don’t do much pre-trip planning and consideration。

In the second quarter, Cedar Club Entertainment’s revenue was US$509 million，But due to the increase in goods prices，Shortage of employees and higher wages，Their operating expenses also increased。Whole 2021，Insufficient staff is the main problem of Cedar Club Entertainment，However, this problem was resolved this year。The company also took steps to reduce many other costs，For example, no new attractions have been announced for opening in 2022，Most of the new attractions opened this year are projects postponed due to the epidemic。

Cedar Club Entertainment Second QuarterNot only achieved record revenue，Great progress has also been made in reducing debt，The company even announced a buyback dividend for the first time in two years。Visitors’ per capita consumption increased significantly。As of August，2022 season card sales reach 3.2 million，With the popular Halloween and WinterFest events series coming，It is expected that Cedar Club Entertainment’s performance will have a good ending in the rest of the second half of this year。

The only bad news is，Cedar Entertainment’s total number of visitors this year is only 7.8 million，This is an 8% decrease compared to the same period in 2019 before the epidemic，

Throughout the epidemic，Sea World has been criticized by the outside world for various reasons，Including changing several CEOs。In Operations，The company’s attractions planned to open in 2020 have been postponed，Some may not even open until summer 2022。However，Because of this，SeaWorld’s second quarter results were pretty good，Revenue exceeds US$500 million，14 more than 2021.8%，An increase of 24 compared with the same period before the epidemic in 2019.3%，It can be said to be“A blessing in disguise”。

The average consumption of tourists also increased by 6% compared with the same period in 2019.4%，The company had 6.3 million visitors in the second quarter，Increase by 7 compared to 2021.8%，But down 31% compared to the same period in 2019。Given that the number of tourists in the first half of 2022 will be 9.7 million，An increase of more than 20% compared with 2021，SeaWorld’s visitor numbers dropped more significantly in the second quarter。

The company has not made much progress in reducing debt，However，Either the second quarter ends with 3.US$900 million to repurchase 7.1 million shares，Still approve future timely repurchase value 2.$500 million stock，Both show that the company is confident in its future development prospects。

For regional theme park operators，The scope of their business determines that the decline in their number of tourists is an overall trend，However，Persuading tourists who are willing to enter the park to increase consumption is “The other side of the coin”，Six Flags plans to do this。

Six Flags Entertainment believes，The company-operated theme park was previously too crowded，It will greatly harm the tourist experience, the company plans to reduce the overall number of tourists by 10-15%.

Measures taken by the company to reduce the number of tourists include reducing the benefits and benefits of memberships with seasonal or annual passes，Improve ticket and membership pricing，There is also a price increase for the products entering the park and in the park。The core logic is，By providing better service and better experience，Let die-hard fans spend more and longer in the park。

Looking at the second quarter results，Six Flags Entertainment’s plan has achieved certain results。The company achieved revenue 4.US$3.5 billion，Down 5% compared to the same period last year，Visitors dropped to 6.7 million，Down 22% compared to the same period in 2021，A decrease of 35% compared with the same period in 2019，But the more critical indicator——The average consumption of tourists increased by 23% compared with 2021，The main reason is，Ticket revenue increased by 27%，Visitors’ in-park consumption increased by 18%。

However，Six Flags Entertainment remains the same as before，At times, revenue and profit exceeded analysts’ expectations，But people are not favored by the market，The stock price fell nearly 23% after the announcement of the financial report, the stock price slowly recovered in the next few days.

Selim Bassoul, the current CEO of Six Flags Entertainment, once said publicly，Six Flags has always been a paradise;It becomes a cheap day care center for teenagers during spring break and summer peak season”，The company must work hard to change the main force of tourists from Wal-Mart and K-Mart shoppers to Target shoppers。

After such remarks were published，On the one hand，Existing guests and card members are calling for the company’s current CEO to resign on social media，However，On the other hand，Six Flags Entertainment’s investors and major shareholders seem to agree with this statement，H Partners Management, one of the major shareholders, purchased 500,000 company shares，Seems to show support for company leadership and its plans。

Can be expected,After reopening after the epidemic lockdown，Wearing a mask is no longer mandatory，Most theme parks no longer limit the number of visitors，The U.S. theme park market may delay its recovery。But will oil prices fall？Will inflation remain high?？Can the rising prices of basic daily necessities be suppressed?？

Looking at the bigger picture，The gradual breakdown of global supply chains will also have an impact on households and businesses。The U.S. theme park market is recovering well on the one hand，Rise in performance，On the other hand, the stock market is not optimistic about these major theme park players，Many companies’ stock prices fell。Various internal and external factors have caused many American theme park companies to recover despite good recovery，The stock price has not been recognized by the market。