A scene from the film Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Photo: IC
Jin Jiang International Holdings has announced that it will collaborate with Warner Bros to co-build a Warner Bros Studio Tour Shanghai for Harry Potter films in Shanghai, according to Shanghai Jinjiang Action Park, a subsidiary of Jin Jiang International, which posted this on its official WeChat account on Wednesday.
The project will be located in the Shanghai Jinjiang Action Park in Shanghai's Minhang district and is scheduled to open for business in 2027. The joint venture agreement and project initiation are awaiting regulatory approval.
The project will be the first of its kind in China, and the third globally, following facilities in London and Tokyo, Shanghai-based Jiefang Daily reported.
The Harry Potter-themed studio tour -- spanning 53,000 square meters, including both indoor and outdoor spaces -- will take visitors on a behind-the-scenes journey into the making of the films, explore iconic scenes crafted by the creators of the Harry Potter films, view authentic costumes and props used in its movies, and engage with innovative interactive tools, according to the WeChat post.
International theme park operators are making significant inroads into China's massive market.
Legoland Shanghai Resort is set to open this coming summer, with the project progressing smoothly. Most of the resort's rides are locally sourced and have transitioned smoothly into the installation phase, the Global Times learned from the company in January. The development of Legoland in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province is also progressing smoothly and is on track for completion this year.
The expansion of the Shanghai Disney Resort is marking a milestone in the development of its third themed hotel, the Global Times learned in January.
Zhang Yi, CEO of the iiMedia Research Institute, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the emergence of international theme parks' investment in China to a large extent comes from the surge in demand for cultural, leisure and entertainment products as the Chinese economy develops to a certain level.
The recovery of the tourism industry, the increase of the middle-class population and the strengthening trend of family travel have made positive impact on the development of China's theme park industry, according to a research paper released by iiMedia in January.
On the one hand, there is huge demand in the domestic market. On the other hand, the construction of theme parks also serves as a gathering point for inbound tourism or international consumption demand. This is expected to give a boost to "traveling to China" and bring momentum to the Chinese consumption market, Zhang said.
Shanghai Disney Resort said that in 2024, the number of international visitors received by Shanghai Disneyland reached a new high, far exceeding the levels seen before the pandemic in 2019, with the most significant growth coming from tourists from Southeast Asia.
According to Joe Hoskin, executive vice president and general manager of Universal Beijing Resort, the resort is becoming an important destination for inbound tourism in Beijing, as reported by people.cn in January. By fusing Chinese tradition and modernity, the resort's Spring Festival events offered foreign visitors a unique window to experience the culture of the Chinese New Year.
China continued to ease its visa policies in 2024 to boost openness and people-to-people exchanges, allowing more foreign travelers and businesspeople to visit the country visa-free.
The National Immigration Administration (NIA) said in January that cross-border trips by foreigners surged 82.9 percent from a year earlier to 64.88 million in 2024. More than 20 million inbound foreign trips were made visa-free, a year-on-year increase of 112.3 percent, according to the NIA.
The Chinese government in January released a list of measures to foster new growth points in the culture and tourism sector and boost related consumption, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
To cater to the varied demand of different age groups, more tailored hospitality and travel services will be launched for families with children, and more high-quality, customized services and products will be made available for elderly people, according to the document.
It also outlined further efforts to optimize the country's inbound travel policies and fully leverage existing visa-free entry policies to boost the supply of inbound tourism products.
