Theme parks are drawing in ever bigger crowds in Asia, but American brands still dominate the market
CALIFORNIA may be a dysfunctional place but it still leads the world in making three dimensional fantasies. The top eight theme parks worldwide are owned by Disney, drawing in 100m punters between them. This is a serious business. In the last financial year Disney’s theme parks accounted for 30% of the company's $40 billion revenue. Disney, whose employees are addressed as "cast members" on internal e-mails, faces a challenge from a diminutive wizard. Last year the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando accounted for almost half of the rise in North America’s total theme park attendance, according to a report by AECOM. The park has been so successful that it will be replicated in California and Japan. Like many markets the attraction industry is shifting to the East. Asia’s biggest 20 theme parks pulled in 105m visitors last year, 9% more than in 2010, quickly catching up with North America’s 127m.
CORRECTION: The first version of this chart had Lotte World lower in the rankings than it should have been. This was corrected on June 21st.