What is the most anticipated cultural tourism project this year? The frequently searched Beijing Universal Resort is bound to occupy a place. It has been 20 years since this project was built. The municipal supporting project alone has invested 53 billion yuan, and the internal test ticket was even fired up to 5,000 yuan.
After three months of internal stress testing, Beijing Universal Resort announced that it will enter the trial operation phase on September 1. The Internet has overwhelming early access strategies, accompanied by a four-person sale of internal test qualifications from Beijing Tongzhou police. The announcement of administrative detention has already aroused the appetite of the outside world.
There is a guide, and the price has not been announced yet-the ticket price of the Universal Studios theme park and the price of the resort hotel are still unknown. According to the “Daily Business News” reporter’s recent experience in the Universal Resort, plus night accommodation, a conservative estimate is that a family of three spends about 3,500 yuan in the Universal Resort.
It is worth mentioning that in recent years, theme parks have been quite popular in China. In addition to international giants, Chinese theme park brands are also on the rise. After the Beijing Universal Resort was put into use, this competitive landscape was once again disturbed.
Logo for Universal Resort located on the city avenue
Picture source: every photo by reporter Li Shaoting
It’s hard to get a ticket for the closed beta, and it will take time for the park to officially open.
“Where did your ticket come from?” At 9 a.m. on August 26, a man asked the closed beta visitors who were about to enter the entrance of Universal Studios. This question is also very common on social platforms. Below the posts shared by the strategy, there is always a message on “How to get the qualification for the closed beta”.
“Scalpers” have long been closely watching the business of the internal test ticket. Recently, four people sold Universal Studios’ internal test experience qualifications at prices ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 yuan, disrupting the market order, and they have been taken by the Tongzhou Public Security Bureau. Administrative detention according to law.
According to the introduction of Universal Beijing Resort, from August 26 to 31, each employee in the resort can invite 5 people to participate in the closed beta. Even if the trial operation is opened on September 1, it is also by means of targeted invitations. The final opening of the park will take some time.
Beijing Universal Resort is composed of three parts: Universal Studios theme park with 7 theme scenic spots, City Avenue, a dining and entertainment center, and two supporting hotels. Among them, City Avenue can visit and shop without ticket purchase. Among supporting hotels, NUO Resort Hotel is a new Chinese luxury hotel, and Universal Studios Hotel is the first hotel named after Universal Studios.
The Beijing Universal Studios theme park has set many records. It is the fifth in the world, the third in Asia, the first in China, and the largest Universal Studios theme park so far. Miao Lewen, President and General Manager of Beijing International Resorts Co., Ltd. Theme Parks and Resorts Branch, especially emphasized the location of Beijing Universal Resort-subway, bus, Sixth Ring Expressway in his speech on “Media and Opinion Leader Experience Day” Road, the goal of building a new IP for Beijing Cultural Tourism has been blessed.
Miao Lewen is giving a speech. Picture source: Photo by reporter Li Shaoting
On the afternoon of August 26, in the Hollywood theme park theater, the stage play “Untamable” from the movie “How to Train Your Dragon” was being staged. A 13-year-old boy from Chaoyang District, Beijing, watched it to his mother. The background of popular science, the atmosphere created by dry ice, the characters in the play flying over the audience seats, and the enthusiastic actors make visitors immersed in the plot.
“I like the Transformers base the most. The effect of wearing 3D glasses in the battle for the fire source is very good. The children of the’Xiong Batian’ (roller coaster) dare not ride, and the line for 2 hours is too long and they didn’t go.” Said that because the child was tired from playing and didn’t want to leave, he planned to go home directly after the game was over. The plan was changed to rest in a nearby hotel. The child of the closed beta visitor has not left Universal Studios yet and has already planned for “October.” Time to do it again.
“Untamable” performance scene
Picture source: every photo by reporter Li Shaoting
The internal test price of the hotel is about 1,000 yuan per night, and the price of catering has been questioned as being too high
The Universal Resort is located to the south of the eastern part of Beijing City, near the sixth ring road in the southeast. The location is still relatively remote. In the case of abundant recreational activities, even Beijing locals are still unavoidable to “get up early and greedy the dark”. A tourist from Haidian District said that it took nearly two hours to arrive at the resort alone.
So what is the price for one night? The NUO Resort Hotel and Universal Studios themed hotels supporting the resort are all luxury-level, and can be booked with closed beta qualifications. Among them, the double and double rooms of the Universal Studios themed hotel have the same price, both are 950 yuan per night. In addition to taxes and fees, the total is about 1070 yuan/night, and the price of NUO Resort Hotel is similar. In terms of other options, the Internet price of a common room at Atour Hotel in Tongzhou Universal Studios Beijing is more than 600 yuan per night.
Food and beverage prices within the Universal Resort are also the focus. Previously, tourists who participated in the internal test posted shopping receipts on social media, questioning the excessive price of food in the park. The receipt showed that the consumption of a meal was nearly 2,000 yuan, and after the internal test half discount, it still needed more than 1,000 yuan.
However, many tourists who participated in the closed beta reported to the “Daily Business News” that Universal Studios includes a variety of catering services at various price points.
In the theme park of Universal Studios Beijing,Hogwarts night view
Picture source: every photo by reporter Li Shaoting
Take the Three Broomsticks restaurant in Harry Potter’s Wizarding World as an example. The main course “Assorted Vegetables with Smoked Roasted Chicken” has the lowest price at 68 yuan per serving, which is suitable for adult female tourists with ordinary food. The price of “Chicken Platter” is 98 yuan per serving, which is suitable for adult male tourists with normal food intake. The “Gourmet Feast” includes a variety of meats and side dishes, priced at 428 yuan, suitable for sharing by many people, and the price of the children’s menu is between 38 yuan and 58 yuan. Yuan range. Take Mr. Ping’s noodle shop in the Kung Fu Panda Scenic Area as an example. A large portion of wonton noodles is priced at 68 yuan.
Tickets for the Universal Studios theme park have not yet been priced. According to the price of Shanghai Disneyland, outsiders guess it is between 500 yuan and 800 yuan. A tourist with a child told reporters that the price of five to six hundred is within the range of psychological expectations, and seven hundred is the upper limit of its expectation. Many other tourists said that the price of seven hundred is a price-sensitive demarcation point.
“Seven hundred (yuan) is fine. After all, there is a cost to go to Shanghai Disneyland or Universal Studios in Japan. This saves a lot of other expenses at the door of Beijing.” A closed beta visitor compared Universal Studios to the reporter. For the scale and amusement projects of the city and Happy Valley, tickets for Happy Valley in Beijing are priced from two hundred to three hundred yuan.
As a gathering place for IP, every scenic spot in Universal Studios has many cultural and creative surrounding souvenirs. For example, popcorn in the style of a small yellow man car costs nearly 300 yuan, the well-known chocolate frog in Harry Potter is 79 yuan in a carton, and the uniforms of the four colleges are more than seven or eight hundred yuan, and a magic wand The price is in the range of two to three hundred yuan. According to the reporter’s observations and interviews with fellow tourists during the closed beta, souvenir shopping within the range of three to four hundred yuan is an ordinary shopping level.
Based on this calculation, if the ticket price of Universal Studios is 700 yuan, if you stay at a nearby hotel for one night, and eat a regular fast food in the resort area, a conservative estimate of the travel price for a family of three is about 3,500 yuan.
A restored scene in Harry Potter in the theme park of Universal Studios Beijing
Picture source: every photo by reporter Li Shaoting
Supporting investment has exceeded 50 billion yuan, and theme parks are accelerating beachhead
Universal Studios and Disney are the two most well-known theme park giants for Chinese tourists. Universal Studios opened in Beijing, and Disney opened in Shanghai as early as 2016.
As we all know, one of the reasons for the high level of consumption in such theme parks is the huge investment. Although the overall investment amount of Beijing Universal Resort cannot be found, according to Xinhua News Agency, the total investment of more than 100 municipal supporting projects surrounding Beijing Universal Resort is about 53 billion yuan.
In addition to Universal Studios and Disney, many giants are also gearing up to enter the Chinese market. According to Zhang Yi, founder of iiMedia Consulting Group, the landing of international big-name theme parks in China is essentially confidence in the Chinese market. In the past few decades, all theme parks that landed in these areas were areas with particularly rapid economic growth in the future, but because the investment time was relatively long and the investment amount was huge, the recovery time was relatively long.
In addition to international giants, domestic independent theme park brands are also successively laying out, and the tracks of Chinese theme parks are crowded with contestants.
As early as 5 years ago, Wang Jianlin, chairman of Wanda Group, once challenged Disney: By 2020, 15 theme parks will be built, covering commercial forms such as theme parks, resorts, shopping centers, and cultural exhibition facilities. However, Wanda’s paradise was ultimately not completed, and OCT, Huaqiang Fantawild, Sunac, Chimelong and Happy Valley formed five major competition patterns.
In 2020, the theme entertainment association TEA and AECOM jointly released the “2019 Global Theme Parks and Museums Report” (hereinafter referred to as the report). Overseas Chinese Town from China surpassed Universal Studios and was promoted to third place. Huaqiang Fangte, Overseas Chinese Town and Chimelong had the number of tourists. The growth rates were 19.4%, 9.4% and 8.9%, and the total number of tourists exceeded 140 million, accounting for 27% of the total number of tourists in the TOP 10.
Theme parks are accelerating their access to the Chinese market, and they are fancying the consumption potential of the Chinese market. When Universal Studios officially debuts in China, the competitive landscape is likely to change again. Williams, Chairman of Universal Theme Parks and Resorts Group, once said: “More than 20 million tourists come to Beijing every year. It is a huge opportunity for us.”
In the theme park of Universal Studios Beijing, the Little Yellow Man’s Paradise Scenic Area
Picture source: every photo by reporter Li Shaoting
The aforementioned report shows that the number of visitors to Asia’s top theme parks has even shown a slight downward trend, but China’s theme park market has grown significantly. Increased income, demographic dividends, increased travel demand, and large land reserves have all provided good conditions for theme parks.
Take the NEEQ cultural tourism leader Huaqiang Fangte (834793, OC) as an example, its net profit attributable to its parent in the first half of this year was 90 million yuan, an increase of 306.53% year-on-year. Huaqiang Fantawild introduced in the semi-annual report that in the first half of this year, the Fantawild theme park tourist reception has recovered to nearly 90% of the same period in 2019, and the industry is about 77% in the same period.
“I have confidence in China’s long-term economic growth and strong consumption capacity. I think this is very important,” Zhang Yi said. He believes that theme parks have various ways to make money, the most important being tickets. Secondly, the supporting hotel and catering income is not cheap, but the derivative income is not mature enough for the Chinese market. “Most tourists don’t necessarily buy it. Consumer habits such as cartoons, dolls, and gifts are still being cultivated.”
According to the analysis of the brokerage research report, China’s theme parks will usher in an era of “high, professional, and sophisticated”. In the future, Central China and Southwest China may rise. Among the theme park projects to be completed before 2025, projects with obvious themes account for 87%, which is much higher than the current proportion. The radiation range of single theme parks is mainly local residents and surrounding tourists, while theme parks with group brands have stronger brand appeal, content update capabilities and customer radiation radius. In addition, the construction of theme parks in the future will be more specialized and chained.
