A new independent report has said that plans for a multi-billion dollar Gold Coast theme park in Australia have the potential to take away a third of trade from the region’s three major existing theme parks.
Wanda, which is China’s largest property developer, is aiming to surpass Disney as the world’s largest tourism enterprise by 2020. Wanda chair, Wang Jianlin, announced plans for the
multi-billion dollar Gold Coast theme park and resort development in November last year.
The report, released by CITI equity researchers, says the new park would bring an extra million visitors to the region each year, but would take 30 per cent of the existing market from Dreamworld, Sea World and Movie World. According to the report, an extra five million visitors would need to visit those parks each year to remain competitive with the new addition.
“Anything that will increase visitation to the Gold Coast will be highly welcomed by the tourism industry,” said Gold Coast Tourism chief executive Martin Winter in response to the report.
“The spin-offs reach into aviation, accommodation, transport and food and beverage, so everyone could win.
“Whether or not this will impact negatively on existing Gold Coast attractions is something that only time will tell and no doubt you will have differing opinions from different sectors.”
Wanda is currently in negotiation with the state government to obtain land in the Coomera area of Queensland to build the development. The developer has previously made significant investment into the Gold Coast region and is also planning a number of major projects across Australia.
