Slow growth in Asian waterpark visitation in 2015

June 23, 2016

The performance of world’s leading waterpark, Chimelong in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, was a standout among Asian waterparks in 2015, with its 4.1% growth in visitors a standout among declining or flat performance in waterparks across the region.

As revealed in the recently published 2015 TEA/AECOM Theme Index and Museum Index, Asia’s leading waterparks managed an average of 1% growth during the year, with numbers flat at many leading parks.

However, China saw many new entries into the market that will influence the numbers in the future while market leader Chimelong welcomed 2.35 million visitors.

While poor summer weather was a factor in the decline in waterpark attendance in Korea, Yoshii and Chang predict future positive growth in the sector, particularly in South East Asia where the pair explain “weather supports year-round operation.”

Commenting on the growth Yoshii and Chang advise that waterparks “are being built at a faster pace - there might be as many as five water parks being built for every new theme park.”

Top 20 Asian waterparks attendances in 2014:

1 CHIMELONG WATER PARK, Guangzhou, China - 2,352,000 (+4.1%)
2 OCEAN WORLD, Gangwon-Do, South Korea - 1,509,000 (-5.9%)
3 CARIBBEAN BAY, Gyeonggi-Do, South Korea - 1,434,000 (-4%)
4 WET 'N' WILD GOLD COAST, Gold Coast- 1,200,000 (no change)
5 SHENYANG ROYAL OCEAN PARK - WATER WORLD, Fushun, China - 1,150,000 (-1.9%)
6 SUNWAY LAGOON, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - 1,077,000 (-2.1%)
7 ATLANTIS WATER ADVENTURE, Jakarta, Indonesia - 970,000 (+1%)
8 SUMMERLAND, Tokyo, Japan - 915,000 (+3.5%)
9 WOONGJIN PLAYDOCI WATERDOCI, Gyeonggi-Do, South Korea -898,000 (+5%)
10 SUNWAY LOST WORLD OF TAMBUN, Perak, Malaysia - 859,000 (+22.7%)
11 OCEAN PARK WATER ADVENTURE, Jakarta, Indonesia - 804,000 (+3.5%)
12 LOTTE WATER PARK, Seoul, South Korea - 772,000 (newly opened)
13 WATER KINGDOM, Mumbai, India - 750,000 (no change)
14 PLAYAMAYA WATER PARK, Wuhan, China - 730,000 (+35.2%)
15 WUHU FANTAWILD WATER PARK, Wuhu, China - 708,000 (+129.1%)
16 LEGOLAND WATER PARK, Johor, Malaysia - 700,000 (+11.1% )
17 ZHENGZHOU FANTAWILD WATER PARK, Zhengzhou, China - 694,000 (+215.5% )
18 CHANGDE HAPPY WATER WORLD, Changde, China - 690,000 (newly opened)
19 WET 'N' WILD SYDNEY - 675,000 (-4.9%)
20 ADVENTURE COVE WATER PARK, Singapore - 660,000 (+7.5%)