Beijing News Shell Finance News (Reporter Zheng Yijia) On the evening of March 29, Haichang Ocean Park Holdings Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Haichang Ocean Park") announced that it has recently signed a memorandum of cooperation with Hong Kong Ocean Park Company for a period of three years. In 2011, this is another cooperation between the two parties after the signing of cooperation agreements in 2011 and 2014.
According to the terms of the memorandum of cooperation, the areas of cooperation between the two parties will include, but are not limited to, the establishment of a cooperative research platform for aquarium biology, a talent exchange platform, a technology output platform, an animal exchange platform, a popular science education network, and a brand promotion alliance.
After announcing in October last year to sell 100% of its four theme park companies and 66% of Zhengzhou Haichang Ocean Park Tourism Development Co., Ltd. for 6.53 billion yuan, Haichang Ocean Park proposed a new transformation goal in November of the same year.
Wang Xuguang, executive director and chief executive officer of Haichang Ocean Park, said that in the future, the group will focus on three scenarios, namely theme parks/leisure and vacation culture and tourism scenarios, leisure and entertainment theme consumption scenarios, and theme hotel/resort scenarios. Asset-light business, providing cultural tourism and leisure services and solutions, and creating a life and entertainment platform company featuring marine culture.
Fang Hongfeng, vice president of Haichang Ocean Park, also publicly stated that the mission of transforming and upgrading traditional tourist attractions has arrived.
In order to become a popular tourist attraction with vitality in the market again and enjoy the dividends brought by the new format, traditional tourist attractions must achieve an all-round upgrade of positioning, products, services and operations.
Building a life and entertainment platform group featuring marine culture has become a new task for Haichang Ocean Park, and asset-light business has become the "keyword" for transformation.
In addition to selling related assets to "reduce the burden", the recently disclosed new cooperation also reflects Haichang Ocean Park's transformation attempt to a certain extent.
In addition to cooperating with Hong Kong Ocean Park, in February this year, Haichang Ocean Park signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Poly Culture Group Co., Ltd. and China Silk Group Co., Ltd., planning to integrate cultural performances with cultural tourism commercial ticketing, and develop cultural tourism. Asset-light operations, etc.
In December last year, Haichang Ocean Park also reached a strategic cooperation with Shanghai Xinchuanghua Cultural Development Co., Ltd. to carry out the "Ultraman ULTRAMAN Series" theme block and theme park project, as well as related catering, limited goods, performances, and theme stores. and other cooperation.
According to the 2021 performance report disclosed recently, Haichang Ocean Park comprehensively promoted the cultural tourism service and solution business last year, providing services and solutions such as scheme design, construction management, operation services, brand output, etc., to the aquariums, Large-scale projects around the ocean, especially marine resort projects, lifestyle hotels and commercial projects centered on marine culture, and ice and snow parks are exported.
It is reported that Haichang Ocean Park added six new signed agreements in this business sector last year, with a total contract value of over 50 million yuan, a confirmed income of about 21 million yuan, and more than ten cooperation intentions for construction consulting and operation services to be signed. .
At present, the theme park operation business of Haichang Ocean Park is still the main source of the company's revenue.
In 2021, Haichang Ocean Park's revenue from park operations will be 1.824 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 60.8%, accounting for 74.1% of total revenue.
The revenue of cultural tourism services and solutions business was 51.81 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 54.6%, accounting for 2.1% of the total revenue.
Haichang Ocean Park said that domestic tourism consumption recovered last year, and business has recovered significantly compared with 2020.
However, the repeated epidemics in some regions, and the strict public health measures and corresponding travel restrictions in various regions still have a greater impact on the business.
In 2021, Haichang Ocean Park achieved revenue of 2.46 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 110.6%; net profit was 834 million yuan, compared with a net loss of 1.479 billion yuan in the same period last year; They increased by 22.5% and 18.9% year-on-year, respectively, recovering to 50.2% and 60% in the same period of 2019.
It is reported that Haichang Ocean Park will continue to promote the expansion of theme parks and the business of cultural tourism services and solutions in the future, and hopes to further improve the management of operating funds, improve the efficiency of capital use, and improve the capital structure.
Haichang Ocean Park emphasized that the expansion of the second phase of the Shanghai Park project will be carried out through an asset-light approach, that is, partners are responsible for providing facilities and Haichang Ocean Park provides operations.
Chen Shaofeng, Vice President of China Cultural Industry Promotion Association, said: "In the future, the phenomenon of excessive investment in tourism projects and funds being deposited in land and hardware facilities will be reversed. The asset-light tourism project is a business model that highlights investment content and experience, and needs to be reduced. The proportion of heavy asset investment other than non-consumer products and experience products also includes emphasis on improving the return on asset investment returns, reducing precipitation capital, reducing cost burdens, and improving cash income and profitability, etc. High-quality development must get rid of the pull of traditional investment The model and the asset-heavy business model must lead cultural tourism with IP content and brands to build a whole industry chain and promote the overall improvement of the quality of global tourism.”