The Experience Economist
For APAC, we estimate there are approximately 500 million theme park and water park visits each year, which translates to around 135 visits per 1,000 residents.
Industry report · Leisure Development Partners (LDP)
The Experience Economist: Asia Pacific (APAC) Edition 2025 is the first report in Leisure Development Partners’ series on the volume, value and impact of the global visitor attractions industry. This report is a regional market view of theme parks and waterparks across East Asia, China, the city-states, South East Asia, India and Australasia.
What the 2025 APAC report covers
APAC outpaces the rest of the world on park growth. Between 2010 and 2023 the top 20 theme parks in the region grew visits by an average of 3.3 percent a year, against 1.3 percent in Europe and 1.2 percent in North America.
The region is then split into different development stages: high-intensity mature markets (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong), a vast but still under-penetrated China, tourism-led South East Asia, and a large, lower-income India where park quality is uneven. Theme parks taking a growing share of the pipeline, mixed-use destinations, digital and competitive socialising, and China’s move toward large-scale IP destinations.
Key findings from the 2025 APAC edition
- About 500 million theme park and waterpark visits a year across APAC.
- 135 visits per 1,000 residents — high aggregate volume, lower intensity than Europe or North America.
- US$34.8 billion estimated total economic impact.
- 590,600 estimated jobs.
- China already has four of the world’s 20 most-visited theme parks: Shanghai Disneyland, Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, Universal Studios Beijing and Chimelong Paradise.
- Countrywide China visitation is still only about 185 visits per 1,000 people, below Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
- China had 55 cities with more than 2 million residents at the last census cited in the report — the structural case for more than a handful of destination parks.
- India has about 80 theme parks and waterparks, many below the quality bar seen elsewhere in the region. PRICE estimates that two-thirds of Indian households will be middle class by 2050.
- Thailand’s tourism engine is quantified at 35.6 million arrivals in 2024.
- Pre-Covid tourist intensity (2019) underlines the city-state model: Macao 8.9 tourists per resident, Hong Kong 3.2, Singapore 2.4, against an APAC average of about 0.06.
Market snapshot: visits intensity across APAC (2025 edition)
Population and GDP per capita 2024 figures (IMF WEO).
| Market | Population (2024) | GDP per capita | Theme & waterpark visits per 1,000 residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong SAR | 7.5m | US$54.0k | 1,439 |
| Singapore | 6.0m | US$90.7k | 898 |
| Taiwan | 23.4m | US$33.4k | 716 |
| Korea | 51.8m | US$36.1k | 699 |
| Japan | 123.9m | US$32.5k | 612 |
| Australia | 27.1m | US$66.2k | 436 |
| Malaysia | 33.5m | US$12.5k | 311 |
| New Zealand | 5.3m | US$48.3k | 213 |
| China | 1.4bn | US$13.3k | 185 |
| Vietnam | 101.3m | US$4.6k | 136 |
| Thailand | 70.2m | US$7.5k | 114 |
| Indonesia | 281.6m | US$5.0k | 51 |
| Philippines | 113.2m | US$4.1k | 44 |
| India | 1.4bn | US$2.7k | 19 |
Regional chapters in the 2025 edition
China and Taiwan
China is already a global attendance powerhouse, but penetration is still thin relative to Japan, Korea and Singapore. The 2025 text flags a shift toward large-scale IP destinations rather than a scatter of mid-quality local parks. Taiwan sits with the high-intensity East Asian group (716 visits per 1,000).
Asian city-states
Hong Kong, Singapore and Macao punch far above resident population because tourist intensity is so high. Gardens by the Bay is used as the product example: major IP layered onto an existing destination, first Avatar, then Jurassic.
East Asia
Japan and Korea remain the quality and intensity benchmarks. Parks cited include Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo DisneySea, Universal Studios Japan, Nagashima Spa Land and LEGOLAND Japan; in Korea, Everland, Lotte World, E-World and LEGOLAND Korea Resort.
South East Asia and India
Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines mix domestic demand with international tourism at very different income levels. India is treated as a long-horizon market: household incomes are rising, but current park stock is large in count and uneven in quality. Scaling to local spend, not copying Shanghai, is the feasibility test.
Development trends (expert view)
- Theme parks taking a growing share of new development.
- The rise of mixed-use destinations that wrap parks with retail, hotels and civic uses.
- Digital attractions and competitive socialising as emerging formats.
- China’s pivot to large-scale IP destinations.
Who should read this report
- International operators comparing Japan/Korea intensity with China and India headroom.
- Developers sizing first-generation parks to local GDP per capita, not to headline population.
- Investors who need the 2025 APAC baseline before reading the 2026 China-tier update.
- City and tourism agencies arguing for attractions as jobs and visitor-economy infrastructure.
About Leisure Development Partners
Leisure Development Partners is the leading specialist economics and strategy expert for visitor attractions and leisure real estate. We have worked in more than 80 countries on over 1,000 projects. We offer market and feasibility analysis, enhancement strategy, economic impact, strategic planning and business modelling and due diligence.