Sim Leisure Group, a Malaysian-owned and Singapore-listed theme park and leisure company, is planning to launch two new attraction concepts in Singapore.
In an interview with the Straits Times, Sim Leisure Group’s CEO Sim Choo Kheng said the company is in talks with interested parties regarding both concepts.
One of these will be Sim Leisure Group’s Escape brand, which offers climbing zones, zip lines, obstacle courses and waterslides.
The other will be a cinematic experience called Haven XR that utilises virtual reality (VR) goggles to immerse visitors.
The Escape brand in Malaysia currently includes Escape Penang and Escape Challenge at the Paradigm Mall in Petaling Jaya. Sim Leisure is evaluating several sites in Singapore before finalising the locations.
“At its core, it is designed for that kid in all of us. Optimised for smiles, it is low-tech, yet high-fun,” Sim said.
For the shopping mall-based Escape attractions, Sim Leisure Group’s business model is for mall owners to provide 100 percent of the $1.5 million capital expenditure for the Escape park. They then take 10 percent of the gross revenue.
“A few years ago, this wasn’t possible so we invested in the prototype in Petaling Jaya as proof of concept,” Sim added.
“Now, it is much easier to convince mall owners because the theme park actually supports the rest of the mall’s outlets.”
As for Haven XR, Sim Leisure Group has teamed up with the Australian company to develop the VR experience in China and Southeast Asia. Sim expects to open the first Haven XR attractions in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in the first quarter of 2024.
Sim Leisure expansion in Southeast Asia
He said the Haven XR venues will include sensory elements and will put visitors in starring roles, unlike traditional cinema experiences. Visitors will also be able to choose avatars generated using artificial intelligence (AI).
Again, any interested shopping mall owners will be expected to invest around $1m for each venue, and will get to keep 10 percent of the gross revenue.
Sim Leisure Group is also developing new Escape parks in Cameron Highlands and Ipoh. The former will be Malaysia’s largest Escape park.
In Singapore, Sim Leisure Group plans to reopen KidZania in the first quarter of next year.
