Merlin Entertainments looks at Australian expansion

October 12, 2018

Merlin Entertainments - the biggest owner of visitor attractions in Australia and New Zealand - is on track for a record year and actively scouting for expansion opportunities.

Divisional Director Rob Smith is predicting that that visitor numbers to Merlin’s local attractions for 2018 will be up by 3% to 4% over last year.

According to Smith, the improved performance is based on excellent natural snow fall boosting visitor numbers at its Mount Hotham and Falls Creek ski resorts in Victoria over the winter; strong full-year performance from its newest attraction, LegoLand Discovery Centre Melbourne, which opened last April; robust visitation for its major attraction, Sea Life Sydney Aquarium complemented by what Smith says has been “very very good growth out of Sea Life Melbourne” and continued buoyant international tourism.

However, Smith is mindful that the Australian attractions market is becoming increasingly competitive, partly as a result of international tourists - who make up around 50% of its business - taking shorter breaks.

Smith explains “you could almost say that Australia is becoming a short-break destination for certain international markets - the average length of time spent in destination is definitely shrinking.”

As reported by Travel Trends, Smith sees that that Merlin’s local growth is largely predicated on the health of Asian inbound tourism market, in particular from India and China.

He also advised that Merlin is actively scouting further sites for another LegoLand Discovery Centre while the company is also interested in bringing its ‘Dungeons’ brand to Australia.

Merlin Entertainments is the world’s second largest ‘family entertainment’ company behind Disney with more than 130 attractions globally.

It’s been operating in Australia since 2011, when it entered the market through the acquisition of the Sydney Attractions Group for $110 million.

The deal included Sydney Aquarium, Sydney Tower and Sydney Wildlife World.

One year later it spent a further $140 million to buy Living and Leisure Australia Group, which included Melbourne Aquarium, and the Mount Hotham and Falls Creek ski resorts.

It also owns Madame Tussauds and operates a total of 13 attractions in Australia and New Zealand.

Smith is a speaker at Travel IQ - a new one-day conference exploring the business of tourism - being held at The Langham, Sydney on Wednesday 24th October.

Travel IQ is aimed at entrepreneurs, owners, directors, investors, managers and key executives.

Click here for more information on the Travel IQ conference in the Australasian Leisure Management industry Calendar.

Images: Merlin is looking to introduce its Dungeons brand into Australia (top) and Rob Smith (below).

7th October 2018 - Falls Creek flags 2018 snow season highlights

9th August 2018 - Conference to explore tourism business and investment

3rd August 2018 - Merlin Entertainments sees profits fall through first half of 2018

11th July 2018 - 200,000 New Zealanders visit Wonders of the World

10th July 2018 - Merlin Divisional Director makes statement after Sydney Tower Eye fatality

29th June 2018 - Merlin Entertainments announces creation of SEA LIFE Trust Beluga Whale Sanctuary

2nd June 2018 - Sea Life Sydney Aquarium awarded for offering best large animal exhibit

29th May 2018 - Award-winning hospitality operator to offer new dining experiences at Falls Creek

18th May 2018 - Historic levels of growth in global theme park industry in 2017

4th May 2018 - Victorian alpine resorts welcome investment in collaborative tourism strategies

2nd April 2018 - Leisure industry gets into April Fool’s Day spirit

13th March 2018 - Illawarra Fly Treetop Walk reaches 10 years of operations

9th March 2018 - Sydney Tower Skywalk to remain closed during investigation into how woman fell to her death

24th January 2018 - Final days of operations for the Manly Sea Life Sanctuary

18th October 2017 - Merlin Entertainments performance impacted by terror fears

25th September 2017 - Falls Creek announces $9 million Eagle Chairlift redevelopment

3rd July 2017 - First Black Run opens in Australia at Mt Hotham

18th April 2017 - LEGOLAND Discovery Centre opens in Melbourne

27th April 2016 - Merlin Entertainments marks five years of operations in Australasia

3rd August 2015 - WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo launches new Wild Flight aerial adventure

21st May 2013 - Gaming attractions set to exploit ‘zombie’ trend

22nd August 2011 - Merlin continue Australian attractions rebranding with details of Sydney Tower Eye relaunch

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