Only 0.2% of Wyong Shire’s population of 150,000 claims Chinese ancestry. But the Australian area may soon see a spike in Chinese faces. That’s because a new theme park is to be built with the aim of luring tourists from China. Chinese investors have been sold land, and plan to spend A$500 million on what is being dubbed the Australian Chinese Theme Park.
Located 80km north of Sydney, Agence France-Presse reports that it will be a seven-sectioned park, featuring a 400 year-old Ming Dynasty museum, and a replica of the gates of the Forbidden City (as well as the obligatory restaurants and resorts). Construction is set to start in 2015, with the coastal site spread over 15.7 hectares. According to the South China Morning Post, the Chinese are Australia’s top tourist draw now, spending A$3.8 billion last year. The new park in New South Wales is expected to employ 2,000 and according to Wyong Shire’s mayor Doug Eaton, will bring millions of dollars of tourism revenue to the area.
In fact, Eaton seems to have surreally high expectations. “Outside the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, this has the potential to be among the biggest tourist attractions in the state,” he forecasts.
© ChinTell Ltd. All rights reserved.
Sponsored by HSBC.
The Week in China website and the weekly magazine publications are owned
and maintained by ChinTell Limited, Hong Kong. Neither HSBC nor any member of the HSBC group of companies ("HSBC") endorses the contents and/or is
involved in selecting, creating or editing the contents of the Week in China website or the Week in China magazine. The views expressed in these
publications are solely the views of ChinTell Limited and do not necessarily reflect the views or investment ideas of HSBC. No responsibility will
therefore be assumed by HSBC for the contents of these publications or for the errors or omissions therein.
Download Apps