John Duffey It’s been smooth sailing for the Six Flags ship and its shareholders, but CEO John Duffey sees new opportunities on the horizon Alice Davis, managing editor, Attractions Management
round will soon break on the first Six Flags in Asia, as the thrill king of the US theme park industry staked its own claim to a piece of the Far East pie. But Six Flags Haiyan, which will be part of $4.6bn (£3.2bn, €4.1bn) tourism destination resort not far from Shanghai, is not just the company’s first park in China, it’s the first of many. “Given the global strength of the Six Flags brand, we believe we have tremendous growth opportunity to partner with other firms that are interested in building Six Flags-branded theme parks in markets outside North America. Developing Six Flags parks in various parts of the world is part of our long-term growth strategy,” says John Duffey, CEO of Six Flags. The plan is to build multiple Six Flags in China in the next 10 years in partnership with real-estate developer Riverside Group, who will build and own
the parks and buy the license to operate them. A similar franchise model is also supporting upcoming parks in Dubai and Vietnam, sending a clear signal that Six Flags is committed to potentially unlimited expansion abroad.
global growth
CEO John Duffey is overseeing Six Flags’ expansion into China (below)
“Developing internationally is a great growth opportunity for us. China is an excellent market and one that has the potential to support multiple Six Flags-branded parks. Dubai is an emerging entertainment destination with incredible potential and Vietnam is another exciting market where we believe the brand will be well-received. All of these markets have large populations with growing disposable incomes, strong economies and a void of entertainment similar to what Six Flags offers,” says Duffey Asia remains underserved when it comes to high-quality attractions. China in particular has a still-expanding middle class
China is an excellent market and one that has the potential to support multiple Six Flags-branded parks
34 attractionsmanagement.com
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