Mainland China is poised to leapfrog the US to become the world’s largest theme park market within the next two years.
A China Theme Park Pipeline Report released this week shows annual visitor numbers will exceed 230 million by 2020.
According to the report by AECOM, the past decade has seen average annual growth of 13% and it forecasts the double digit growth will continue.
About 190 million visited Chinese theme parks in 2017.
A growing middle class and an increase in disposable incomes have spurred consumer demand for travel and entertainment, the report said, however China still has a much lower per-capita theme park attendance rate than many other countries.
"These findings demonstrate a significant opportunity for future growth in the Chinese market," said Chris Yoshii, AECOM vice president for Asia and global director for leisure and culture.
There are at least 70 new parks under construction or in the advanced planning stage, the AECOM report found.
"Parks with a clear and distinctive theme, such as those tied to international intellectual property brands, stand a higher chance of business success than independent parks. Overall however, trends for China’s theme park industry are strong and offer myriad opportunities for both themed and non-themed owners and operators," it added.
