New Legoland theme park, hotel planned for Shanghai

Shanghai will see the establishment of a Legoland and a new round of expansion of the Shanghai International Resort with Disneyland as the core.

At a Shanghai tourism Investment promotion conference on Tuesday, the city inaugurated the first batch of major tourism investment projects during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025).

A total of 30 major tourism projects, with an overall investment of 113.2 billion yuan (US$17.5 billion), were launched for the 14th FYP. Twenty-four tourism investment projects were unveiled, worth an estimated 115 billion yuan.

The Legoland Shanghai Resort will be set up in Jinshan District covering 477 mu (32 hectares), with a Legoland theme park, a themed hotel with at least 250 rooms, and supporting commercial streets.

With a total investment of around 15 billion yuan, the Legoland is planned to see the construction begin within this year and open to the public in September 2024, expecting to attract over 3 million visits per year.

Around the Legoland theme park, Jinshan District is planning a coordinated development area of 15 square kilometers, to build a resort combining education, entertainment, tourism and commerce and trade, according to the district authorities.

Located in the geographical center of Yangtze River Delta, the resort will cover a market of nearly 140 million people.

The Shanghai International Resort, with Disneyland as the core, will also be extended.

The Resort has had a positive impact on the local economy. In the three years after opening, the park visitors' consumption has contributed an average 4.09 percent to Shanghai's tourism industry every year and 0.21 percent of the city's GDP, said Bao Zhaotian, senior vice president of operations at the Shanghai Disney Resort.

Fang Shizhong, director of the city's culture and tourism bureau, also released the "Shanghai Tourism Investment Promotion Guide 2021" and an online platform for tourism investment promotion in the city.

By 2025, Shanghai aims to achieve annual tourism revenue of 700 billion yuan, and be home to three world-class resorts and six AAAAA tourist attractions.

The city recorded 144 million visits by domestic tourists in the first half of this year, reaping revenue of 172.4 billion yuan – 78 percent of that in the first half of 2019, indicating a rapid recovery from the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic.