After years of delay due to the pandemic, the asian attractions market was finally able to reconnect at IAAPA Asia 2023.
From 13-16th June 2023, the event brought together over 5,330 attendees from 75 different countries and regions. They networked, gained insights from education sessions and explored the show floor. The venue was the Marina Bay Sands in beautiful Singapore.
Attendees were welcomed to Singapore by Jakob Wahl, IAAPA president and CEO and June Ko, executive director and vice president, IAAPA Asia-Pacific operations. Both were in a round table in the Opening Ceremony with Jim Pattison Jr, IAAPA chairman of the board and president of Ripley’s Entertainment, and Andrew Bolstein, committee chair, Asia-Pacific regional advisory committee and senior vice president of operations, Shanghai Disney Resort, speaking about trends across Asia.
“APAC has been hungry to get together. Every country in Asia had different rules and came out of the pandemic at different times” said Bolstein. “China is the last for the walls to come down. However, guests are now looking for better quality parks and more tech and innovation across the region”.
This slower bounce back in China was evident at the show. There seemed to be fewer visitors from mainland china visitors, but strong representation from growing markets across south east Asia.
Pattison ended the opening ceremony by encouraging attendees to “go buy something!” and explore the 287 exhibitors on the show floor, many of which had new products and attractions.
New products on the show floor
Attraction! a leading manufacturer of media-based attractions, was showcasing the new Rovio IP Playneo game to attendees at the expo. Now gamers can engage with the next generation free-roam entertainment platform and the well-loved franchise. The licensing agreement was arranged by licensing agency IMG.
Extreme Engineering, a leading adventure attractions company, launched The Hooli-Hoop at the show. The new tower ride comprises of three towers, each with a different ride path and thrill level. DOF Robotics debuted new VR film Homeland: Rise of Nomads and showed its new look for Hurricane VR 360 attraction. DOF also won a Brass Ring at the show, coming second place for the largest booth category. The full list of winners were:
- 9-27 square meters, First Place, Mascot Enterprise Pte Ltd, Booth L2028
- 9-27 square meters, Second Place, Shiji Group, Booth L306
- 36-54 square meters, First Place, FULL DOME PRO. Co., Ltd., Booth L512
- 36-54 square meters, Second Place, DEI, Booth L329
- 63 square meters and larger, First Place, WhiteWater, Booth L1535
- 63 square meters and larger, Second Place, DOF Robotics, Booth L1513
Red Raion, the CGI studio specialised in media-based attractions, showcased a sneak peak demo of new title Van Helsing – Rise from the Dark. Wiegand Waterrides, a leading water rides and attraction provider showcased two concepts: The Slide Coaster the world’s first launch waterslide, which the prototype is now in development for, and the XSlide where riders, cross back over the slide path.
Triotech, creator of media based attractions, was showcasing its Walkthrough, Hyper Ride interactive dark ride, and Dome theatre using minature models on the booth. Guests could experience new interactive multiplayer coin-op game QUBE on the booth as well as the classic STORM coin op simulator.
A new media-based attraction
Fulldome.pro, leaders in projection dome technology, showcased new product the Super Reality Stand-Up Theater at the show. The highly immersive media attraction is a 4-5 minute 4D ride, inside a Fulldome.pro projection dome.
The company partnered with Triotech for an industry’s first stand-up motion platform which uses several special effects like wind and water, and Red Raion for a selection of media content including Aladdin, Moby Dick and Pinocchio.
Content can be changed at the push of a button, and domes are suitable for indoor or outdoor spaces across theme parks, attractions, retail and more.
The domes come in three sizes: 4.5m for 2 stand up seats, 6m for 8 stand up seats or 8m for 24 stand up seats but the domes can be scaled for bespoke projects too. Fulldome.pro also won a brass ring for their booth at the show, first place for their size category.
During the show it was announced Pico Play, a leader in the planning, design, development and construction of themed attractions, were creating a joint venture with K11 Group. The 11 Skies project will be Hong’s largest retailtainment landmark located right next to the International Airport.
An airport experience
The success of retailtainment projects can be seen from Singapore’s own Jewel at Changi airport, which many attendees experienced travelling to the show or through a behind the scenes edutour from IAAPA.
This incredible $1.7 billion retailtainment complex has ten stories of retail and an array of attractions. These include the spectacular HSBC Rain vortex and light show, a trampoline canopy, multiple mazes and more. It is the only airport in the world where arriving a full 8 hours before your flight time is recommended.
Sustainability at Waterbom Bali
We heard about sustainability in waterparks in a session from Franceen Gonzales, Chief Experience Officer, and Phil Zhong, COO Asia both from WhiteWater, Sayan Gulino, CEO, Waterbom Bali, Roger Currie, Director of Project Development – EuroAsia at Water Technology, Inc. and Walter (John) Kerr, Consultant Advisory.
“We create fun, but we have to be responsible in how we do that” said Gonzales. The session included several sustainability case studies from Waterbom Bali, Siam Park and Ocean Park.
Waterbom Bali is taking steps to reduce its carbon impact from recycling water, renewable energy sources, efficient pumps and a robust waste to landfill program recycling 96% of its waste.
“To influence other businesses it’s not just about brand recognition, but real cost reductions” said Gulino. “We need to establish sustainable competition to push each other further”.
WhiteWater is creating greener products and solutions that use less power and water, and a new resin transfer moulded fibre glass that minimises the resin consumed and waste product.
Stefan Rothaug, Director of Sales and Marketing at media based attraction manufacturer Brogent Technologies, Inc. spoke about the unique characteristics that make a flying theatre attraction successful and shared the company’s latest innovations.
Parties around the city
Around the show there were some great events to see the local attractions and city. At IAAPA’s opening reception at Universal Singapore on Sentosa island, attendees could explore the park after dark and network with fellow attendees. The Opening Reception was sponsored by Leisure Development Partners.
We had a great dinner with the Embed team; P+A and Scenario hosted an event at Barbary Coast in the city; Kingsmen welcomed guests at the historic Singapore Cricket Club. The Themed Entertainment Association hosted a large party for their APAC members at Harry’s Bar in the Marina Bay Link Mall.
The most glamorous night of the week was the JNLEC party. This took guests 57 floors up to CÉ LA VI at the top of Marina Bay Sands with panoramic views of the bay.
Expansion at Mandai Wildlife Reserve
During the trip, we enjoyed visits to several local attractions. We were hosted by Mike Barclay, CEO and Cheryl Wen, deputy vice president of communications from Mandai Wildlife Group at the Night Safari to explore the attraction after dark.
A Thea-Award winning, world’s first attraction, The Night Safari allows visitors to explore trails via foot or tram at nighttime when the nocturnal animals are most active. We had fantastic tour guides Denny Wijedasa senior manager, park operations and Desmond Ling, assistant vice president of animal care from Mandi Wildlife that showed us around the trails.
The park had a bustling F&B court similar to the hawker stands in the city, and reimagined Animal Presentation show, with a new story-driven focus centred around wildlife photographers.
The theatre was relocated to its new home, to make room the upcoming Rainforest Wild attraction. This new attraction will be the 5th attraction on the reserve, and part of a wider plan to co-locate all of Singapore’s wildlife parks together and position the site as a unique destination for nature and wildlife activities. The move allows Mandai Wildlife Group to grow its animal conversation, education and research efforts too.
A big year for Singapore Zoo
The most recent attraction opening at Mandai was Bird Paradise. This is a new 17 hectare attraction home to 3,500 birds of over 400 different species that were previously at the Jurong Bird Park. Guests can explore the vast outdoor aviaries, animal feedings and bird presentations.
Development has started on a new 338-room resort experience on site. A partnership between Mandai, WOW Architects and Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts; the resort will be integrated into the site, offering an immersive experience in the surrounding nature, whilst being as unobtrusive as possible to the environment. It will be the first Super Low Energy Resort in Singapore. The design will include elevated rooms to allow wildlife paths, natural ventilation and other energy saving measures.
2023 is a big year for Mandai. Singapore Zoo is celebrating it’s 50th anniversary and has kicked off its Golden ZOObilee year of celebrations. These include behind the scenes tours, a fun run, and recognising its volunteers through the years.
AVATAR: The Experience at Gardens by the Bay
We also got to visit Gardens by the Bay, located right behind the convention centre. Visitors can explore the beautifully sculpted gardens, the Flower Dome, or see it all from above on the Supertree Observatory..
The Cloud Forest is most impressive. Its centrepiece is a vast indoor waterfall where guests can explore tropical flora from below or above on tall walkways. The Cloud Forest is currently home to AVATAR: The Experience.
Created by neon, a global experience entertainment company, the experience brings together the characters and IP from AVATAR, the highest grossing film of all time and the luscious backdrop of the gardens. The Cloud Forest is such a rich botanical landscape, that the fictional AVATAR plants merge seamlessly into the environment.
Guests can become Na’vi at one of the AR/photo stations during the experience. They can also interact with a haptic light source that feeds into the land. After dark, the experience lights up showcasing the bioluminescence of the AVATAR world. Guests can meet an enormous interactive Animax animatronic Banshee during the experience too.
We met with Welby Altidor, Group Chief Creative Officer, YiLin Wong, group head, human resources and corporate relations and Cheryl Lim, marketing and communications manager from the neon team. Altidor spoke about several exciting new IPs and experiences that the company will soon be able to announce publicly.
On to Bangkok, Thailand
Sponsors for the event included accesso, Brogent Technologies Inc., Cosm Inc., DOF Robotics, Gateway Ticketing Systems, Kraftwerk Living Technologies, Leisure Development Partners LLP, PGAV Destinations, Sanderson Global, Simtec Systems, Storyland Studios, Inc., TAIT and Vekoma Rides Manufacturing B.V.
IAAPA Asia 2023 was the final show for June Ko as IAAPA’s APAC director. This is because she is due to start a new role as Executive Director at InfoComm Asia. Ko was presented with flowers at the Opening Ceremony and thanked for her many years of service. Her leadership of the IAAPA Asia team, especially through the pandemic, was highlighted.
Next year, for the first time, IAAPA Asia will be taking place in Bangkok, Thailand 27th – 30th May 2024. There will also be regional IAAPA meet ups across Asia for the remainder of 2023, including:
- 26th July – IAAPA Meet Up: Singapore at The Gong by Drinks&Co. @ DUO Galleria
- 20-21st August – IAAPA APAC Summit at Hyatt Regency Danang Resort, Da Nang, Vietnam
- 11th October- IAAPA Presents in Osaka Japan
- 19th October – IAAPA Safety Institute Beijing
- 25th October – IAAPA Meet Up: Singapore
- 6th December – IAAPA Presents in Hong Kong
