Annual visitor numbers are forecast to more than double from 133 million in 2014 to 282 million in 2019, according to Euromonitor International, a research company.
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Wanda will open its first Wanda City, at a cost of 21 billion yuan, in the southeastern city of Nanchang on Saturday. “Shanghai has one Disney, while Wanda, across the nation, will open 15 to 20”. He added that competition from his company would ensure that Disney China would be unprofitable over the next 10 to 20 years. Wanda also has ambitions to beat Disney globally.
Still, there’s been concern among investors and analysts about Wanda itself.
“Wanda’s pricing will be competitive, though its operational experience may lag behind Disneyland”. Disney CEO Bob Iger met with Chinese President Xi Jinping two weeks ago in Beijing. Xi, who rarely meets foreign business leaders, expressed his congratulations for the planned Shanghai opening.
The conglomerate, which acquired Hollywood film company Legendary Entertainment for US$3.5 billion this year, is poised to become the world’s largest cinema operator after it completes the purchase of Carmike Cinemas Inc.
Wang has said that path follows the transformation of China’s economy from one reliant on investment in factories and housing to a consumer market fueled by sales of clothes, entertainment and other goods. The new parks include massive projects by Chinese developers as well as U.S.-based Universal Studios and Six Flags Entertainment.
The guide, jointly published by the city’s civilisation office and tourism bureau over the weekend, aims to prevent bad behaviour by the visitors that came to light during the “soft opening” of Shanghai Disneyland earlier this month, according to a statement by the municipal government on its official website.
“To balance the books, Disney has to charge high prices, which will put off some customers”, he added.
Disney’s $5.5 billion resort in Shanghai, a joint venture between the US entertainment giant and Chinese state-backed consortium Shanghai Shendi Group, is slated to open on June 16.
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Most of the attention lately has been on the Shanghai Disney Resort. Wanda City “is the new global culture and tourism brand that Wanda is striving to build”, spokesman Liu said. Bloomberg notes that it will be a clash of the tourist titans, with both companies already raking in tens of billions of dollars.
