The "Disneyland Forever" show illuminates Shanghai Disney Resort, June 16, 2016. (Photo: China News Service/Zhang Hengwei)
(ECNS) -- The opening of the Shanghai Disney Resort will bring both challenges and opportunities for other theme parks in the Yangtze River Delta, which are likely to see a reshuffle as well as more robust growth than those located elsewhere in China, experts say.
Shanghai Disney on Thursday officially opened its gates to visitors, who waited outside the park in lines extending several kilometers. In contrast, theme parks in nearby Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces saw much more lackluster business.
According to official data from the resort, all rooms at nearby hotels have been booked till the end of June.
Wan Xucai, a professor of tourism at Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, said the opening of Shanghai Disney meant real competition for the first time for the many theme parks in the Yangtze River Delta.
"China's tourism market is so huge that one Disney cannot meet all the needs of Chinese tourists," said Wan.
The resort would be a catalyst for upgrading and transformation of the industry, resulting in robust growth for the more highly competitive theme parks and, on the other hand, a real struggle for survival for those lacking innovative ideas and capabilities, Wan explained.
During the upcoming summer vacation, Shanghai Disney only needed to figure out how to ensure the safety and security of visitors, while other theme parks in the Yangtze River Delta would need to rack their brains to roll out promotions to convince Disney visitors that they too were worthwhile places to see.
For Xu Xiaoyin, the president of a dinosaur theme park based in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, Shanghai Disney would bring more benefits than challenges. "The advent of Disney will accelerate an upgrade of China's theme parks," said Xu.
Although market competition would be fierce indeed, differentiation would be a possible solution, she said.
Xu's dinosaur park had been working to bring innovative entertainment experiences to visitors as well as stepping up cooperation with other cities that focus on cultural tourism, she said. In the future, it would formalize this cooperation through the creation of clubs in about 100 Chinese cities, Xu said.
