another huge aquarium coming up

[Guest guest]

Let's learn block by block The Star - 21/12/09 ON THE BEAT

By WONG CHUN WAI

 

*Johor's RM750mil Legoland theme park offers an opportunity to attract more

tourists to the country, provided the operators run it right.*

 

The people of Johor are said to be a little let down that they would not be

getting a Disney­land as expected or, to be more precise, had hoped for, in

the Iskandar region.

 

They had wished for a Disneyland to compete with the proposed Universal

Studios in Singapore.

 

Admittedly, Legoland does not have the same kind of appeal when put against

Disney­land. But the decision to choose the Danish toy block makers, which

already has similar theme parks in the United States, Denmark, Germany and

Britain, isn't too bad an idea.

*Splashing fun:* Some of the attractions at one of the four Legoland Parks

around the world. The parks are located in the United States, Denmark,

Germany and Britain.

 

The RM750mil theme park, to be based on Lego's coloured construction blocks,

will be Lego's first Asian theme park.

 

The 58.6ha project – the size of 72 football fields – is a joint venture

between Iskandar Investment Berhad, which coordinates the development in the

zone, and theme park operator Merlin Entertainment.

 

Not known to many Malaysians is the fact that Merlin Entertainment operates

Madame Tussauds wax museum and the London Eye.

 

Legoland Malaysia will open in five years' time, but there are plenty of

hard lessons to be learned before it is opened.

 

For theme parks to work in Malaysia or Singa­pore, there is a need for

plenty of air-conditioning.

 

The Genting Highlands theme park works well because of its cool weather

while the Sunway Lagoon park is water-based.

 

Singapore has two bad experiences with theme parks – its Haw Par Villa with

its over 1,000 statues based on Chinese myths and folklores closed shop in

2000 after 67 years.

 

Another fiasco was the 12ha Tang Dynasty theme park, based on the ancient

capital of Chang An, which has been demolished. It was a multi-million

Singaporean dollar disaster.

 

Malaysians and Singaporeans hate walking in theme parks under the hot sun.

We want our air-conditioning.

 

Disneyland would never work in Malaysia or Singapore. The actors in Mickey

Mouse costumes would suffer from dehydration and heat stroke. It would also

not be possible to have those colourful parades every night.

 

Imagine the long queues, if we have the high number of visitors, under the

hot sun. It works in Hong Kong because the weather is mild and surely not

humid.

 

There is also a need for a large expatriate staff for Disneyland to work

and, again, we have a lousy reputation where a Bangladeshi labourer seems to

find it easier getting a work permit than an expatriate professional.

 

Universal Studios in Sentosa would work because the attractions would be

located in large air-conditioned studios.

 

But what Johor needs to work on would be to expand the entertainment complex

to include a wax museum and Johor Eye – which Merlin Entertainment has the

experience and also the rights.

 

Johor should also seriously consider setting up a large aquarium modelled

after Shang­hai's Ocean Aquarium with 10,000 sea creatures. Even Manila has

its own Ocean Park now.

 

With the Iskandar region located near the bay, there is every reason to put

up a world-class aquarium and it will work because it would be

air-conditioned. Currently, the aquariums in Langkawi, the KLCC and Penang

can hardly match the big ones in major cities.

 

The days of tourism depending on natural scenic sites are over. Tourist

attractions need to be created as the competition becomes sharper but, along

the way, crucial lessons need to be learned.