AusLeisure

Adventure tourism pioneer AJ Hackett is forging new territory in the global bungy phenomenon, with three major international projects on the go.

Hackett, who introduced commercial bungy jumping to the world almost 28 years ago, has never been busier, spearheading bungy projects in Singapore, China and Russia.

First to open to the public is a development in Singapore’s Sentosa Island. Comprising a 47 metre jump, two giant swings, a vertical skywalk, a sky bridge vertigo experience and restaurant and bar from a purpose-built tower, the S$12 million project is due to open in May next year.

Late 2017 will also see the opening of the world’s highest bungy jump off a major engineering feature with AJ Hackett International named the official bungy operator at the the ‘world's highest and longest’ glass-bottomed bridge at Zhangjiajie in China’s Hunan Province.

The AJ Hackett International bungy platform will be mounted beneath the glass bridge, offering a 260 metre-long jump when it opens.

Operations will also include a giant swing platform, flying foxes and another 40 metre bungy off a bridge above the glass bridge.

In early 2018, AJ Hackett International will open a Skypark in Moscow, Russia. This US$10 million project will feature bungy, swings, flying foxes and glass viewing vertigo experiences.

Commenting on these projects, Hackett explains “there’s a lot happening in the next 18 months.

“We’ve never opened as many sites of this calibre in such a short timeframe. We’ll double the size of the international company within the next three years.”

In addition, the company is diversifying its operations at Macau, China. Home to the world’s current highest bungy jump (at 233 metres), the attraction will also include jetboating by the end of 2018. And Hackett’s luxury Indonesian resort, Pondok Santi Estate on the island of Gili Trawangan, is set to undergo a huge expansion to triple its current size.

Hackett divides his time between Singapore, Indonesia, France and more recently New Zealand, due to his daughter Margaux being based in Wanaka, although he’s increasingly spending more time in parts of the world where new business is developing.

The major projects are a combination of fully-funded by AJ Hackett International, joint ventures or private/government investment.

After almost 28 years with Hackett at the helm, he believes that the company’s success is down to sticking to its core values and a philosophy of doing business sustainably and with huge amounts of innovation, adding “we’ve always been really careful about where we operate and who we operate with.

“Thanks to our track record of being really innovative, an impeccable safety focus and managing human risk, we now have individuals and governments coming to us, saying ‘we need this in our country’.

“They tell us, ‘we want our people and visitors to experience this personal challenge’.

“Then we get carried away with designers and make everything really cool.

“There are plenty of things you can jump off but we want it to be special - whether you’re jumping or just participating.”

However, the developments haven’t been without their challenges, with the company spending more than four years working with Singaporean authorities to be able to open, including initiating a law change to make bungy safer.

Hackett concludes “we don’t give up easily. If we believe in something we will do everything it takes to realise that dream.”

Drone footage of the glass-bottomed bridge at Zhangjiajie in China’s Hunan Province. 

Images (from top): AJ Hackett, the glass-bottomed bridge at Zhangjiajie in China’s Hunan Province, AJH Hackett's Singapore concept and an artist's impression of the AJ Hackett International Skypark in Moscow.

25th August 2016 - WORLD’S HIGHEST AND LONGEST GLASS BRIDGE OPENS IN CENTRAL CHINA

3rd August 2016 - NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT BACKS AJ HACKETT BUNGY’S NEW QUEENSTOWN ADVENTURE EXPERIENCE

31st May 2016 - CONSTRUCTION STARTS ON SINGAPORE’S FIRST BUNGY TOWER

16th January 2016 - ASIAN TRAVELLERS SEEK NEW EXPERIENCES

16th May 2015 - AJ HACKETT CONSIDERS USING DRONES TO CAPTURE GUEST EXPERIENCES

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