Orlando, Thursday, 4 September 2025.
IAAPA announced this past Wednesday that Su Zhigang, founder and chairman of China’s Chimelong Group, will be inducted into the 2025 Hall of Fame — a signal that attendance-driven scale now shapes global benchmarking. Chimelong ranks as the world’s fifth most visited theme park company and reportedly welcomes over 36 million guests annually, led by Chimelong Ocean Kingdom and the world’s largest indoor theme park. For retail and resort professionals, the induction underscores the strategic payoff of integrated resort models: vertical control of hospitality and retail, aggressive reinvestment in headline attractions, and capacity-first planning. Expect accelerated international partnerships, licensing talks, and talent exchanges that could shift IP deployment and multi-day yield strategies. Western operators should reassess throughput, merchandising density, and cross-site guest spend to remain competitive with high-volume Asian peers. This recognition formalises trends that have been shaping investment and operational priorities across the industry and benchmarking metrics used by investors.