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China Theme Park Expansion Summit

, [InterContinental Shanghai Expo] Shanghai, China

SHANGHAI, CHINA, 08-09 SEPTEMBER 2011 – The investment into China’s theme park industry has increased substantially over the past years and according to forecasts by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, by 2020, China will overtake France and Spain to become the world's main tourist destination.

Noppen’s first China Theme Park Expansion Summit took place on the 8th and 9th of September 2011 at the InterContinental Expo Hotel, Shanghai, China. It was an exciting affair and a number of leading theme park operators, hotel operators and entertainment facility suppliers from all over the world came together to discuss the latest industrial policies, China’s major theme park projects progress, and theme park management strategies. “Opportunities to meet others outside of a formal meeting are valuable.” SeaWorld Discovery Cove Aquatica The conference began with an opening speech from the Deputy Director of the Administrative Commission of Shanghai International Tourism and Resorts Zone who warmly welcomed all the delegates and spoke of the development occurring within Shanghai’s theme park industry. He was then followed by Christopher Yoshii, Vice President and Global Director of Economics from AECOM Asia who was one of the most influential speakers at the conference. He gave an overview of the market forecast for theme parks within Asia and spoke of investment strategies. He emphasized that successful theme parks should be part of larger integrated resorts which include accommodation, retail, residential and even work space. The delegates found his presentation to be highly informative and the Chinese theme park operators found his advice most helpful. Another prominent speaker on day one of the conference was Brian Paiva, Vice President Funa International, he delivered an enlightening presentation about issues involved in running theme park projects and he spoke in length about Funa International’s own experiences. His presentation was well received as he gave helpful advice on how to avoid common but sometimes deadly mistakes in a project in order to achieve a successful outcome. “Very good! I have learned many new brands, met old friends and new ones!” Suzhou Amusement Land

The morning of day two of the conference saw Mr. Lenny Larsen, Director of Themed Entertainment for Rubicon Group take to the stage and deliver a keynote speech in regards to exploring the future of attraction experience. He stated that theme park goers always crave immersive experiences but what they expect from those experiences is evolving. Mr. Larsen’s presentation focused on how attractions will evolve and he stated that the future trend of theme park involves them becoming more interactive. In the afternoon, the Conference Chairman, Mr. Charles Read, Managing Director of Blooloop spoke about social media and its role in theme park business. He emphasized that social media is increasing in importance and it will become the common way that people communicate. He then proceeded to give the dos and don’ts of using social media to promote your theme park and taught the delegates how to wisely use social media to help their business. The delegates found Mr. Read’s presentation to be highly constructive and found that he made an excellent Chairman as he helped to ensure the smooth running of the conference on both days of the event. “Can release the official statistics for our reference, analyse successful cases in China, Generally speaking, the event is good, and the staff are very hospitable.” Janfusun Fancy World Co

The China Theme Park Summit also served as a platform for introduction into the newest innovations and products available within the industry, Mr. Ken Wheatley, Director of Sales of Christie Digital System Asia Pacific introduced the most advanced display technology in entertainment industry. He used case studies of Shanghai World Expo and Coca Cola’s advertisements to help him present his points and his presentation sparked great interest amongst the audience. Dr. Thomas Foerste, Vice president of Nanotron Technology presented their newly developed child loss protection solution at the conference. This technology enables you to locate a lost child or parent instantly helping to reunite families if separated accidentally. Furthermore, David Vatcher, CEO Technology and Project from Dynamic Motion Rides introduced their multi-media, multi-sensory attraction called DMR system. Their product flyboard is a new form of flying simulator where guests stand on a multi-axis motion platform which facilitates the co-stimulation of the senses and the human sensory-motor feedback system to provide an ultra-realistic flying experience. Also, Ms Angel So, Senior Business Manager of Kodak introduced their event imaging solutions at the conference and solutions that enhance and extend consumer’s experience. “We did get very good feedback on our product launch that will help up to optimize our theme park offering.” Nanotron

Other notable happenings at the conference included nWave playing their 3D film at the conference. Their company is an independent Belgian corporation which specializes exclusively in producing and distributing immersive stereoscopic content for the location-based institutional & entertainment market. Another exciting happening was Trans-Force installed their 5D interactive edutainment attractions at the conference venue and delegates could experience the 5D system which provided much amusement to the attendees. The most interesting topic of all though was the presence of the delegates from Disneyland Shanghai and Shendi Group who caught the most attention from the audience and most people wanted to talk to them about their Shanghai Disney project. “Successful, expect to learn more valuable content from the event.”YE Sheng

Noppen would like to express a special thanks to all the excellent speakers at the event and the sponsors of China Theme Park Expansion Summitincluding Nanotron Technologies GmbH, Funa International, Dynamic Motion Rides GmbH, Shanghai MYC Technology Co Ltd, Christie Digital Systems, nWave Pictures SA, Shanghai Sanecore Electronic & Acoustice Technology Co Ltd, Rubicon Group Holding, Sanderson Group – Designers & Builders, Trans-Force Limited, Swiss Rides AG, C2 Turnkey Solutions GmbH, Kodak China Investment Company Ltd, GE, Jack Rouse Associates, Beijing Oriental Garden and URS/Scottwilson.

China Theme Park Expansion Summit

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