Covid-19 puts the brakes on Malaysia's theme park ambitions

KUALA LUMPUR (July 25): The theme park industry in Malaysia has been greatly impacted by the Covid-10 pandemic.

It “has suffered an estimated RM280 million in monthly losses” since the Movement Control Order (MCO) came into effect on March 18, Malaysian Association of Amusement Theme Parks & Family Attractions (MAATFA) president Tan Sri Richard Koh told The Edge Malaysia in its latest issue.

The three-month closure has potentially cost the industry RM840 million in revenue, he added.

“Industry players are expected to end 2020 with a 70%-to-80% decline against budget, both in attendance and top-line revenue,” Koh said.

And things are still not back to pre-MCO days as theme parks are only allowed to operate at reduced capacity.

“All parks and attractions are allowed to open based on a 50% capacity. But the 50% capacity depends on the size of the parks or attractions,” Koh told the business weekly.

He explained that “dry parks were allowed to open in early June as in the case of Berjaya Times Square Theme Park, which opened on June 13, whereas aquariums were also allowed to reopen from early to mid-June”.

With the industry being “one of the very last to be given the greenlight to reopen after the MCO”, the impact “on the business has been devastating”, he said.

As for a recovery of the theme park industry, Koh said it “will take a year or two”.

However, he also does not expect any of MAATFA’s members “to pull the shutters down permanently”.

Koh feels that government support is needed if Malaysia is to become the theme park capital in the region.

“To further achieve our goal of becoming the Orlando of Asia or theme park capital of Asia, the government needs to be fully committed in terms of incentives and tax exemption, and the government of the day must also honour the incentives given by previous governments and not flip flop and revoke the incentives already given.

This is necessary to build confidence in investors,” Koh said.

Meanwhile, Sunway Theme Park executive director Calvin Ho told The Edge he is confident that the country’s ambitions to be the theme park capital has “merely been delayed”.

“The timeline has definitely shifted, in the light of this pandemic. For Malaysia to achieve this goal that is rightfully ours, the economic policies and prospects have to be reviewed for all industry players — no matter their size — to encourage a continuous inflow of investments,” he said.

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Read the full report in this week’s The Edge Malaysia