Asia’s middle class fuels theme park boom

SINGAPORE — When Singapore announced a Universal Studios theme park (picture), sceptics wondered if it would draw enough people to be commercially viable.AFP.in Hollywood, Florida, Osaka and Singapore combined.

But six months after opening, Universal Studios Singapore has welcomed more than 1 million visitors, and other Asian countries are building even bigger theme parks.

Asia has become the new frontier for large-scale outdoor entertainment complexes thanks to growing affluence in large emerging economies such as China, India and Indonesia, and cheaper air travel.

“The industry is moving to Asia,” said Mr Christian Aaen, Asian regional director of research firm Aecom Economics.

“With fundamentals in place such as the growing middle class and incomes in Asia as well as demand for entertainment and leisure time, this is the perfect product for tourism and economic development,” he told

Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea, the Universal Studios park in Osaka and South Korea’s Everland ranked among the world’s top 10 theme parks in terms of visitors last year, according to industry consultancy Themed Entertainment Association (TEA). Encouraged by Asia’s promise, Universal Studios inked a deal in January to build its largest theme park in South Korea at a cost of about US$2.67 billion ($3.6 billion). When completed in 2014, the resort will be bigger than its four other parks

Disneyland has not fared well in Hong Kong — with a HK$70-million (S$12-million) loss last year, according to the

Denmark’s Legoland is setting up its first Asian branch in Johor, hiring builders to use the famous little plastic bricks to replicate national and state landmarks.

A recent Asian Development Bank (ADB) report said the region’s middle class was growing exponentially and poised to become the world’s single biggest group of consumers.

In 2008, 1.9 billion people were broadly classified by the ADB as part of the middle class in Asian developing countries, more than triple its size of 565 million in 1990.

China saw its middle-class boom, with statistics showing the share of the Chinese population with daily incomes of US$6 to US$10 surging from 4.8 to 25.5 per cent between 1995 and 2007.

Nearly 1.1 million tourists arrived here in July — a record, thanks in part to Universal Studios — with Indonesia, China, Malaysia and India in the top five countries of origin along with Australia.

Mr Aaen said the opening of Universal Studios in Singapore “marked the beginning of the new decade where Asia will dominate and remain the primary region for future growth of the industry”. South China Morning Post — but it is going ahead with a new franchise in Shanghai, with construction expected to start in November.AFP

WHEN  CONTRA  ? ? ? ?

dId  nOt  pIck-Up  scrIpt  [gOOds]  ? ? ? ?

can  claIm  back  bOth  the  BUY  and  SELL  GST  ? ? ? ?

GST rebates can be played?  Can dont pay GST huh?   Any shopping malls in singapore absorb the GST?  I will go there buy all the stuff.

MERRY  CHERRY  STRAWBERRY

pepperginger      ( Date: 20-Sep-2010 11:44) Posted: i was thinking of you... and there you come, you are my motivator - pharoah88

I entered again.  If Gain No Pain.  Pain Pain if never try to gain.

Pain at own risk,  Gain at own pleasure.

becos pick own cherrires and straberries............hahahah!!!

SUPER  CHERRY  STRAWBERRY

[ONLY  frOm  GENTING]

MERRY  qUIck-pIck ?

thIs  mOrnIng ?

dId yOU ?

Monday: 20 SEPTEMBER 2010

Only partial is on contra (Trading Day + 3 Day)

Those bought at .75 cent, still holding.

Rgds

Must follow trend ma my friend.

All positive news now, how to short.

Wait negative power very strong liao, shout short n do short it only can earn a piece of drumstick ma.