20 Mar 2015
Universal Studios Japan plans second park on Okinawa
BY Tom Anstey
Universal Studios Japan’s president, Glenn Gumpel, has said the theme park is looking to build a second development on the sub-tropical island of Okinawa – more than 1,500km (932 miles) away from its existing park on mainland Japan.
Details on when the park would open or what it would include are still undecided, but it’s thought that the park would be built in the vicinity of Neo Park Okinawa – a zoo where animals live in natural habitats – in Nago,the island’s second-largest city.
The second development would be smaller than Universal Studios in Osaka and Tokyo Disneyland, and would use the island for inspiration, rather than Hollywood movies. Okinawa is currently trying to sell itself as an Asian tourist destination and a Universal theme park would be a huge step towards solidifying that stance. One thing hampering leisure development on the island however, is the huge US military presence, with half of the US’s forces in the region sited on Okinawa.
In January, Universal Studios Japan announced the park was on course to break its annual attendance record, drawing more than 10 million visitors since the beginning of its fiscal year in April 2014. It placed much of the credit on its new Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction, which opened in July last year.
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