Universal Studios Theme Park Opens in Singapore

South-East Asia’s first Universal Studios theme park started a soft opening Thursday, adding to a regional boomlet for the entertainment industry, spurred by Asia’s growing economies. The 20-hectare theme park on the small resort island of Sentosa just off the south coast of Singapore opened at the auspicious time of 8:28 am with the “eight” sounding like “fortune” in the Cantonese dialect.

Universal’s project – including areas based on adventure films such as Jurassic Park, a castle from the world of Shrek and duelling roller coasters – is one of the major drawing cards of Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa, which already operates a casino and several hotels.

During the soft opening, which had no fixed duration, the park would be fully open, resort spokesman Robin Goh said, but certain attractions might be closed temporarily because of technical or creative adjustments.

Universal’s theme park expected 4.5 million visitors a year, Goh said earlier, about one third of Resorts World Sentosa’s projected total of 13 million visitors annually.

The 4.4-billion-US-dollar resort, developed by Malaysia’s Genting Group, is one of two new casino resorts in Singapore designed to lure tourists mainly from the Asia-Pacific region to boost the city-state’s economy.

The other resort, Marina Bay Sands, is set to open some of its facilities, including the casino, on April 27, followed by a grand opening on June 23, US-based developer Las Vegas Sands said.

Singapore’s Universal Studios theme park, which sells a one-day adult ticket for 66 Singapore dollars (47 US dollars) on weekdays and 72 Singapore dollars on weekends, is the latest addition to a growing landscape of entertainment and leisure parks in Asia.

Over the border in Malaysia’s southern state of Johor, just a 15-minute drive from the border, ground was broken in December for Asia’s first Legoland.

The attraction, based on Denmark’s popular Lego construction toys, was slated to open in 2012.

In Hong Kong, the oceanarium and animal theme park Ocean Park is currently carrying out what it calls a master redevelopment plan worth more than 700 million US dollars. According to the company, the improvements are set to more than double the park’s attractions from the current 35 to more than 70 by 2013.

Also in Hong Kong, Disneyland has started a 465-million-US-dollar expansion project while the Chinese government in November approved plans for another Disneyland in Shanghai with a target opening date of 2014.

With growth rates leading the world economy and an increasing number of potential customers, Asia has become a promising market for developers of entertainment parks, industry experts said.

“Asia and especially China are bright spots with growing economies and an expanding middle class in the medium to long term,” said a report compiled jointly by the industry body Themed Entertainment Association and the consulting company Economic Research Associates.

The region was “very far from saturated,” the report said.

“We believe a lot of growth in the industry going forward will be in Asia,” Economic Research Associates senior vice president Ray Braun said.

But the climate in Singapore could dent the success of the new theme park on Sentosa, Singapore-based gaming and leisure industry consultant Ronald Tan cautioned.

Many Singapore attractions have “flopped because of the heat and humidity,” he told The Straits Times newspaper, noting that “the majority of Universal’s attractions are outdoors, which means people have to wait in line under the hot sun.”

But more than the climate, Tan said, it was the high development costs in Singapore that might cause problems for the casino resorts and the theme park.

Hong Kong’s Ocean Park was a success because the project started with a low investment base, he told the Straits Times, adding that the developers of Singapore’s resorts might have overspent.

The cost of doing business in Singapore has become “very worrying,” Tan said.

Picture From : JAWAEXPRESS

Thanks To : EARTHTIMES

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