北京环球影城预算倍增 投资规模将超上海迪士尼项目

Universal Parks & Resorts and its Chinese partners are expanding plans for a 300-acre theme park in Beijing, doubling their investment to $6.5 billion on heightened optimism about the booming Chinese theme-park market, according to a person familiar with the matter.

据一位知情人士称，由于对中国主题公园市场信心的增强，Universal Parks & Resorts及其中方合作伙伴正大幅扩大北京主题公园建设计划，将这一占地300英亩的项目投资额增加一倍，至65亿美元。

The investment would surpass that of Walt Disney Co.’s Shanghai Disney Resort, which at the time of its 2016 launch cost more than $5.5 billion, and would be the most ever spent on a theme park at the time of opening, according to industry experts.

业内专家认为，这一投资额将超过华特迪士尼公司(Walt Disney Co., DIS)对上海迪士尼乐园(Shanghai Disneyland)投入的55亿美元，将成为有史以来开业时投资规模最高的主题公园。

“It would be the first time Disney has been outspent on a theme-park project,” said Dennis Speigel, who heads a theme-park consulting firm in the U.S.

Dennis Speigel是美国一家主题公园行业咨询公司的负责人。Speigel称，这将是业内其他公司首次超过华特迪士尼在主题公园项目上的投资规模。

The decision to double down on Universal Beijing came after Universal and its Chinese partners saw the success of Disney’s Shanghai park, which drew more than 11 million visitors in its first year after opening in 2016, the person said. Disney has since expanded the Shanghai park, opening a land based on the Toy Story movies last month.

上述知情人士表示，Universal与其中方伙伴作出将投资增加一倍的决定是因为看到了上海迪士尼乐园取得的成功，后者在2016年开业后的第一年就吸引了1,100万游客。华特迪士尼之后又扩建了上海迪士尼乐园，并在上个月开放了玩具总动员(Toy Story)主题园区。

Universal now expects the Beijing park to draw 10 million visitors in its first year, up from an initial projection of 7 million, the person said.

上述知情人士称，Universal现预计北京主题公园将在第一年吸引1,000万游客，最初的预期为700万。

The increased investment will go toward expanding retail and entertainment space, improving planned attractions and building new lands including one based on the Harry Potter books and films, the person said. The park will also have attractions based on the Transformers, Minions and Kung Fu Panda film franchises, which have strong followings in China, a second person said.

该人士称，增加的投资将用于扩充零售和娱乐空间，改善景点设施，并建造新的场景，其中包括基于《哈利．波特》(Harry Potter)系列图书和电影的场景。另一位知情人士称，主题公园还将包括基于《变形金刚》(Transformers)、《小小兵》(Minions)和《功夫熊猫》(Kung Fu Panda)系列电影的景点，这些电影在中国拥有众多影迷。

The move comes as China’s theme-park industry is on track to surpass that of the U.S.’s in the next few years to become the world’s No. 1 market. Theme-park revenue in China topped $6 billion last year, up 27% from 2016, and is expected to hit $14 billion by 2022, according to market researcher Mintel.

中国的主题公园行业有望在几年内超越美国，成为全球第一大市场。据市场研究机构英敏特(Mintel)的数据，去年中国的主题公园收入超过60亿美元，较2016年增长27%，预计到2022年将达到140亿美元。