But the trend has been for China to promote itself,” he said. “China under its current leadership has really decisively moved inward to emphasize its own ability to develop all kinds of projects - and have obviously made an exception for Disney and Universal because of the glamor of those brands and what those companies represent.
The announcement, however, of a multi-billion dollar Hollywood park complex feels rather anachronistic amidst the current low point in U.S.-China relations and resultant changes in local views on foreign companies and culture, Gerner notes. The high-altitude capital has long been a year-round destination for local tourism thanks to its continuous mild weather, ethnic and biodiversity, and growing importance as a transportation hub connecting China to Southeast Asia, bordered as the province is by Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar. Location-wise, Paramount could certainly do worse than sunny Kunming. There will be a “Peanuts” area featuring entertainment options related to Charles Schultz’s iconic cartoon, a dinosaur region with thrill rides and design features inspired by James Gurney’s “Dinotopia,” and a Final Frontier “Star Trek”-themed section. Adventure City and Wonderland will boast thrill rides, including ones branded with the “Mission Impossible” and “Italian Job” IPs. Paramount Boulevard will feature theme hotels, retail and dining options and a water-themed show, according to the Yunnan Daily newspaper.
The new park itself will consist of six themed areas. “Local governments use the idea of a branded theme park as a way of galvanizing and branding these projects, adding a name to give it more glamor and credibility to raise the finance,” he assessed. The momentum in Kunming comes from the local government’s drive to raise the city’s profile. “I think what Paramount really wants is just to get one of their branded theme parks all the way to opening day and beyond, and show that one can be developed using this business model where it’s mainly a licensing situation,” creating a flagship project that could be used as a showcase to build more going forward. “Paramount’s not necessarily looking at China, and it’s unlikely that if Paramount could pick any location in China to build this park that it would have picked this location,” Gerner said, drawing on three decades of experience working with Chinese parks. Paramount, by contrast, is more oriented towards what John Gerner, MD of theme park consultancy Leisure Business Advisors, says they deem a “less risky approach.” The studio tends not to put too much of its own money into a project, instead licensing the Paramount name and IPs to a local partner footing most if not all of the bill. Paramount’s strategy today continues to differ significantly from that of Disney and Universal, which are much more involved in the development of their new parks to ensure they have a consistent look and feel.
The Kunming resort is the studio’s third currently in the works, following a project in Incheon, South Korea reportedly hoping to open next year and a 2023 London park. Paramount’s interest in theme parks has since been rekindled. Unlike Disney and Universal, Paramount came into the theme park business in the early 1990s by buying an existing chain of five theme parks from King’s Entertainment, which it then rebranded as its own.
They are Xindu Company, Kunming-based construction materials firm Guanjiang Group, and China’s State Development & Investment Corporation (SDIC), the country’s largest state-owned investment holding company.Ĭonstruction is expected to span a period of about 42 months, aiming for a June 2024 completion. It is listed as backed by three Chinese enterprises, without mention of foreign partners. The government intends for the development to become a “first-class and internationally renowned tourism and vacation destination” and a “model zone for the transformation and upgrading of tourism industry,” according to the plan. Those entities will include a branch of China’s Central Academy of Fine Arts, a Southeast Asian Art Research Center, and a cluster of eleven international art museums presenting works from the ten ASEAN countries and China itself, in addition to residential buildings and other public facilities. The size ballooned because the Paramount park is now a part of a larger mixed-used development project that will feature 383 additional acres of institutions seeking to bolster cultural ties between China and Southeast Asia, according to a newly released governmental five-year plan published on the official website of the Kunming Dianchi National Tourism Management Committee.