Nationwide trend

Theme parks are not limited to major cities like Shanghai and Beijing, but represent a nationwide economic phenomenon.

Eighty-six major theme parks across the country recorded a total of 130 million visitor trips in 2023, generating about 30.39 billion yuan in revenue, up 97.86 percent year-on-year, the 2024 China Theme Park Competitiveness Evaluation Report, showed. Visitor numbers rose 71.84 percent compared with the previous year.

China's theme park economy has been expanding steadily in recent years, with the market size projected to exceed 110 billion yuan by 2028, reported the 21st Century Business Herald, citing figures from China Insights Consultancy.

Fantawild, a Shenzhen-based entertainment and technology firm, recorded 85.69 million visits in 2023, up 111 percent from 2022, propelling it from fifth to second place in the global rankings, according to a report by Tea and Aecom.

"This achievement, second only to Disney, is credited to Fantawild's long-standing commitment to its mission of bringing more joy to the world and its adamant focus on the broader happiness economy since its inception," said Yun Aihua, vice-president of Fantawild Holdings Inc.

Since opening its first large-scale theme park in 2007 in Anhui province, Fantawild has expanded to operate over 40 theme parks across China, spanning more than 20 cities in over 10 provinces and autonomous regions.

"Theme parks, as man-made attractions and tourism destinations, are products of a certain stage of socioeconomic development. They typically emerge when per capita GDP reaches a certain threshold and urbanization reaches a mature level, reflecting a solid social and economic foundation," Yun said.

The Happy Valley Company operates eight amusement parks and 10 water parks in major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangdong province, and Chengdu, Sichuan province. With a total of 25 themed attractions in 13 cities nationwide, the group welcomes around 40 million visitors annually.

Li Yi, deputy general manager of Happy Valley Cultural Tourism Development Co believes two trends will emerge in the theme park economy.

"First, technology-driven innovation will play a leading role, with advancements such as AI enabling the emergence of virtual theme parks and personalized experiences that transcend physical boundaries. Second, cultural empowerment will deepen as the rise of domestic IPs fosters both cultural confidence and commercial value," Li said.

"Ultimately, content innovation and user-centric design will be essential for the happiness economy to evolve into a sustainable driver of consumer growth," he added.

wang_ying@chinadaily.com.cn