Legoland Malaysia will open a doors to a open soon, approach brazen of schedule.
Many of us can remember spending hours of a childhood building structures from charming Lego pieces. With a splash of creativity, elementary Lego bricks were deftly built to erect vehicles, buildings and even cities, withdrawal many with lustful memories of a construction toys.
Nonetheless, a initial proclamation in 2008 about a attainment of a Legoland thesis park to a shores elicited reduction than eager responses from some quarters.
Beautiful creation: The gates of Legoland Malaysia will strictly open Sept 15.
In fact, a Malaysian Tourist Guide Council primarily voiced beating as a Legoland park was an unknown code in a segment and attention players were awaiting thesis park icons like Disneyland to be set adult in Iskandar instead.
But, after some-more than dual years of changing a minds of sceptics and efforts to attract a public, Legoland Malaysia is prepared to acquire enthusiasts and cynics comparison to take a fun float come Sept 15, 2012.
“We are opening progressing than approaching so that is a good thing,” Legoland Malaysia ubiquitous manager Siegfried Boerst said.
The thesis park was creatively slated to open in 2013.
Legoland Malaysia is a initial Legoland in Asia and a sixth in a world. The 76 hactare thesis park facilities 7 themed areas with some-more than 40 interactive rides, shows and attractions.
Legoland started compelling a pre-opening annual passes late final year and Boerst remarkable that there was outrageous seductiveness in a thesis park from a open as good as trade partners. Much to a pleasure of Boerst, some-more than 45,000 annual passes have been snapped up.
Magnificent: A tiny of a Sultan Abdul Samad Building featured in Legoland Malaysia.
“I trust seductiveness will grow with word of mouth quite when we open and people start entrance to knowledge what Legoland has to offer,” Boerst said.
The thesis park is targeting over a million visitors annually in a initial few years and Boerst expects caller numbers to strike 1.8 million by 2020. On average, annual pass holders are approaching to revisit Legoland 4 to 5 times a year.
The bulk of a park’s trade will especially be internal and Singaporean visitors, though skeleton are stirring to pull some-more general tourists.
The expansion in caller numbers, Boerst said, will be upheld by a flourishing tourism attention here.
“We wish to daub into a 40 million tourists a year approaching to come into Malaysia. We wish to be a partial of a attractions for new visitors as well,” he said.
Legoland Malaysia a partial of a tourism landscape
According to Tourism Malaysia, there were 24.7 million available traveller arrivals final year, with tourism profits totalling RM58.3bil. The Malaysia Tourism Plan 2020 is targeting 36 million traveller arrivals and RM168bil in tourism profits by 2020.
Legoland parks typically residence tiny Lego structures built around themes such as Star Wars as good as mini villages with landmarks in a area. Other Legoland parks are located in Denmark, Germany, a UK and a US.
Hop on: A sight that runs by a park.
The heart of Legoland Malaysia is Miniland, that facilities several Asian landmarks recreated regulating some-more than 25 million Lego bricks.
Apart from Legoland’s possess features, Boerst believes that adult and entrance attractions circuitously will expostulate visitors to a Iskandar segment and by extension, to Legoland.
“Legoland fits good with a tourism post of Iskandar. There is a good judgment for Iskandar and we are operative with other attractions in a closeness to offer appealing packages,” Boerst said.
The Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park in Nusajaya is scheduled for a Nov opening with attractions such as Lat’s Place and a Sanrio Hello Kitty Theme Park among other things. Iskandar Malaysia is looking to supplement some-more thesis parks for a segment to boost tourism activity there.
Some have been discerning to indicate out that Legoland is no compare for Singapore’s integrated resorts, that have stronger products to offer. The attractions during a resorts embody Universal Studios Singapore, a casino and a Marine Life Park that support to a far-reaching operation of visitors compared to Legoland’s aim assembly of immature children.
Legoland Malaysia indication builders Muhammad Khairul Zainon Noor (left) and Stefan Bentivoglio putting on a final square of a tiny Petronas Twin Towers.
But Boerst believes that Singapore’s resorts are not approach competitors.
“It is always good to have healthy competition, though we trust we can distinction from any other. Legoland’s participation here adds to a whole tourism captivate in this partial of South-East Asia and tourists on longer stays can revisit parks in both countries,” he said.
Additionally, a H2O park and Legoland Hotel are slated to be non-stop in 2013 and 2014 respectively, that would meant some-more integrated offerings for Legoland. This will pull longer-staying visitors and supplement to Legoland’s revenue.
Legoland expects to beget some-more than RM100mil in income in a initial year of operations. This will come from all a attractions in a park, restaurants as good as sell outlets.
“We should see operational distinction in a initial year itself, though to redeem a full investment will count on a long-term expansion of a park that customarily takes about 15 to 20 years,” Boerst said.
The total cost of a thesis park and designed H2O park is RM720mil, that is entirely saved by a Malaysian government, while a construction of a hotel will cost RM190mil.
Boerst said, nonetheless Legoland radically usually manages a park in Malaysia, UK-based Merlin Entertainments Group, a owners and user of a other Legoland parks, will demeanour into appropriation during slightest a 20% interest in Legoland Malaysia relocating forward.
This will boost Merlin’s strech in Asia, that is approaching to be a new stadium for thesis park operators as a North American and European markets mature and caller numbers plateau.
A news by Pricewaterhouse-Coopers foresee Asian thesis park assemblage to grow to 290 million in 2012 from 249 million in 2007, while spending in that duration is approaching to arise from US$6.4bil (RM19.93bil) to US$8.4bil.
Market investigate association Global Industry Analysts Inc estimates that a tellurian thesis parks marketplace could strech US$29.5bil by a year 2015 and US$31.8bil by 2017, charity copiousness of room for expansion in Asia.
Boerst pronounced Legoland might try into other Asian markets and is already in negotiations for a thesis park in South Korea.
Sneak peak: A perspective of Miniland
“In Asia, a marketplace is outrageous and it is comparatively untapped. In a past, internal players tend to miss a financial strength and imagination to set adult unequivocally good thesis parks. But a marketplace is prepared for that now,” he said.
He remarkable that a party attention in East Asia quite is not jam-packed and as infrastructure improves and disposable income increases, a segment is branch out to be an critical market.
He combined that Legoland parks did not see most of a slack during a mercantile downturn notwithstanding views that consumers would cut down on convenience pursuits.
“We have seen a good 10% expansion in visitors and sales annually for a whole of a Merlin Group. we am certain that if everybody focuses on what needs to be finished here, we will see investments flourishing in Iskandar and that can usually be profitable for Legoland Malaysia.
“This is a new marketplace for us so we are optimistic,” he said. – By Joy Lee, Photos by Abdul Rahman Embong
and Kevin Tan
For more, greatfully revisit a Legoland Malaysia central website
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Tags: interactive rides, Iskandar mercantile zone, Johor, Johor Baru, lego, Lego indication builder, Legoland, Legoland Hotel, Legoland Malaysia, Legoland Park, Malaysia Tourism Plan 2020, miniature replica, theme park, theme park ride
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