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A brand new theme park centered round a UNESCO World Nature Heritage registered forest will open in Japan’s southern island of Okinawa in 2025, as extra vacationers flood into the nation and customers stage a post-pandemic retail restoration.
The brand new park referred to as ‘Junglia,’ positioned by the subtropical mangrove forest of Yanbaru, can have dozens of sights throughout 60 hectares (148 acres) showcasing native nature. That features air balloon excursions, zip strains and a dinosaur-themed space, in addition to an infinity spa and outside eating places.
The brand new vacation spot is the brainchild of Tsuyoshi Morioka, a former Proctor & Gamble Co. govt who made his identify by turning round Common Studios Japan with the introduction of recent sights, together with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The mission raised about ¥70 billion ($470 million) to revamp a former golf course in northern Okinawa, Morioka mentioned.
“By taking the total benefit of the massive, untouched tropical forest, I need guests to completely expertise the actual luxurious that they will’t get in giant cities,” Morioka mentioned at a briefing in Tokyo. He hopes the mission will set off extra funding within the space as Okinawa has giant room for progress as a tourism vacation spot for each international and home guests, he mentioned.
The brand new park announcement comes because the variety of international guests to Japan in October surpassed 2.5 million folks, exceeding the figures seen in the identical month in 2019 — earlier than the Covid pandemic — based on Japan’s Nationwide Tourism Group. Inbound tourism has been one of many few vibrant spots in Japan’s patchy restoration, with the uptick an instance of how the weak yen has benefited the financial system.
Katana Inc., a advertising and marketing and leisure firm Morioka established in 2017, has revamped different theme parks in Japan. There’s Huis Ten Bosche close to Nagasaki, which recreates the Netherlands, and Seibuen Amusement Park, which reopened as a retro-themed vacation spot impressed by Nineteen Sixties Tokyo. Morioka is opening a brand new attraction within the capital subsequent spring referred to as Immersive Fort Tokyo, which places guests in the midst of fictional conditions like homicide mysteries or treasure hunts.
Tokyo Disney Resorts’ two parks and Common Studios Japan have been among the many prime 5 most-visited amusement and theme parks worldwide in 2022, with every attracting greater than 10 million folks yearly, based on a report by infrastructure consulting agency AECOM and the Themed Leisure Affiliation.