Between 1993 and 1998, more than 2000 theme parks had been opened in China, developed and financed by both domestic and foreign investors. Disney management was convinced that a huge, child-loving populace would support a lively theme park business. Instead, many projects were swamped by excessive competition, poor market projections, high costs, and relentless interference from local officials. Several hundred parks had already been closed, due to poor quality of service and less than exciting entertainment experiences. Instead of increasing, consumer enthusiasm for theme parks had dwindled. 6 These parks had also been unsuccessful at attracting a significant number of customers from other Asian nations. Other factors affecting the viability of an Asian theme park in China had to be evaluated. The Chinese economy was one of the fastest growing during the 1990s and was expected to experience significant growth well into the new millenium. At least onethird of the nation’s 1.2 billion people resided in the rapidly developing coastal region, the industrial heartland of the nation. The largest and most developed population centers were located in this area, where an awakening and growing middle class lived and worked. Their leisure time had increased significantly and was expected to continue to outperform the rest of the nation. With their income levels approaching $1,000 per month, China’s middle class families were a prime target audience for Disney theme park experiences. The Chinese had a cultural disposition toward pampering children, which had been accentuated by the nation’s one-child per couple policy. Although many theme parks in China had not been successful, it was still generally believed that an exciting experience of high quality would attract visitors to a park. A mundane experience would
Between 1993 and 1998, more than 2000 theme parks had been opened in China, developed and financed by both domestic and foreign investors. Disney management was convinced that a huge, child-loving populace would support a lively theme park business. Instead, many projects were swamped by excessive competition, poor market projections, high costs, and relentless interference from local officials. Several hundred parks had already been closed, due to poor quality of service and less than exciting entertainment experiences. Instead of increasing, consumer enthusiasm for theme parks had dwindled. 6 These parks had also been unsuccessful at attracting a significant number of customers from other Asian nations. Other factors affecting the viability of an Asian theme park in China had to be evaluated. The Chinese economy was one of the fastest growing during the 1990s and was expected to experience significant growth well into the new millenium. At least onethird of the nation’s 1.2 billion people resided in the rapidly developing coastal region, the industrial heartland of the nation. The largest and most developed population centers were located in this area, where an awakening and growing middle class lived and worked. Their leisure time had increased significantly and was expected to continue to outperform the rest of the nation. With their income levels approaching $1,000 per month, China’s middle class families were a prime target audience for Disney theme park experiences. The Chinese had a cultural disposition toward pampering children, which had been accentuated by the nation’s one-child per couple policy. Although many theme parks in China had not been successful, it was still generally believed that an exciting experience of high quality would attract visitors to a park. A mundane experience would