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Alongside their relaunching of the KidZania Singapore attraction on Sentosa in 2024, Sim Leisure Group – a Singapore-listed theme park developer and operator – will also be introducing two new theme park concepts to the local market – Escape theme parks and Haven XR virtual cinemas.
KidZania Singapore first opened in 2016 in Singapore before closing during COVID and announcing that it would be exiting the Singapore market in June 2020.
Sentosa Development Corporation officially handed over KidZania Singapore to Sim Leisure Group in July 2023 with refurbishment underway and a reopening of the attraction at Sentosa’s Palawan Beach planned for Q1 2024.
The handover ceremony was attended by Thien Kwee Eng, Chief Executive of Sentosa Development Corporation, Sim Choo Kheng, Founder and Chairman, Sim Leisure Group, Datin Silviya Georgieva, Governor, KidZania Singapore, Executive Director, Sim Leisure Group, and Philip Whittaker, Chief Executive of Sim Leisure Group.
When it reopens, KidZania Singapore will be among the few KidZania facilities around the world to be based on the KidZania 5.0 blueprint, the fifth iteration of KidZania’s evolution.
This will introduce new professions with a focus on sustainable development with the kid-sized, role-playing city. Children visiting the indoor theme park will be able to play the parts of technopreneurs and Internet influencers, as well as eco-literacy specialists and environmentalists, for example.
Sim Choo Kheng, Founder and Chairman, Sim Leisure Group enthused “KidZania Singapore excites me as I am able to use my creativity to bring in a new genre of occupations. This includes exciting role plays such as Environmentalist and Environmental Protection Agent that are in line with the current need to raise awareness and understanding of environmental social protection.
“Today, businesses cannot merely be good at sustaining profits, but should also have a positive impact on today’s environmental and social issues. We are very encouraged by many of the Singaporean companies we have spoken to, who want to collaborate with us to introduce ESG-centric role play activities.”
In addition to developing KidZania 5.0, the Sim Leisure Group is also planning to expand its presence in Singapore’s attractions industry with new entertainment experiences such as Escape theme parks and Haven XR virtual cinemas.
Sim Choo Kheng said there are already Escape parks in Malaysia. There is an indoor version at Paradigm Mall in Petaling Jaya known as Escape Challenge (pictured top), while the outdoor version in Penang called Escape Adventure Park includes a water park. The company is evaluating several sites in Singapore and is yet to finalise the locations.
He said these upcoming theme parks are aimed at the age group of 15 to 35, and are also suitable for the corporate market, as they focus on character building and team bonding.
Talking to The Straits Times Sim Choo Kheng noted that online shopping has changed the retail experience irreversibly and this means that shopping malls have to reinvent themselves to attract shoppers back.
“Escape is becoming the new anchor tenant that large department stores used to be. It can attract footfall and the mall becomes a destination again,” he said.
SLG’s business model is for mall owners to put up 100% of the $1.5 million capital expenditure to set up the theme park and then for them to take 10% of the gross revenue.
“A few years ago, this wasn’t possible so we invested in the prototype in Petaling Jaya as proof of concept. Now, it is much easier to convince mall owners because the theme park actually supports the rest of the mall’s outlets,” he said.
Sim Leisure Group are also planning to introduce Haven XR virtual cinemas into Singapore and Kuala Lumpur malls with the mall owners expected to invest $1 million for each theatre and in return, keeping 10% of gross revenues.
Back in September 2022, University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia advised that HavenXR would base its full-scale studio at the Sunshine Coast campus, ensuring their expertise and experience and “regenerative design ethos” are accessible to students, while tapping into the university’s latest research and development for their location-based virtual reality (VR) products.
HavenXR is a joint venture under the banner of Josephmark, which has studios in West Hollywood and Brisbane, and Tribus345, a QLD based entertainment and attraction company.
University of the Sunshine Coast Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Helen Bartlett said the university was constantly strengthening partnerships with industry and had collaborated with the Sunshine Coast Council to achieve the outcome.
“By partnering with HavenXR, we are reimagining how research and industry work together to fast-track outcomes for our students, as well as the role designers can play in reshaping our future across practically every industry.”
Professor Bartlett said virtual reality design had numerous applications including entertainment, health, education, environmental science, and tourism – particularly with the next Olympic Games in Queensland expected to be the first games fully available by VR.
HavenXR Co-founder and Chief Executive, Tracy Whitelaw said “HavenXR already has an agreement with a Malaysia-based partner to establish location based virtual reality centres in the Asia-Pacific region. Following this, we have plans to launch globally with a focus on the US initially within three years. This is a very exciting opportunity for HavenXR and UniSC to be on the global stage.”
Sim Leisure Group’s plans for HavenXR experience in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, sees up to four visitors able to fit into each room with their virtual experience enhanced by temperature changes, as well as winds and smells.
Sim Choo Kheng told The Straits Times that this concept will change the cinema-going experience because visitors will no longer just watch the movie passively, but will instead become the starring heroes.
Not only can visitors choose their artificial intelligence-generated avatars, but they can also choose different paths within the story. Each path is original so they can repeat the experience for different endings. Visitors will be able to take the movies home and share them online.
Sim Choo Kheng expects to roll out the first Haven XR Cinema Centre in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur concurrently in the first quarter of 2024 as the lead time to set these up is only three months.
“While a real theme park requires the entire structure to be torn down, we can put a roller coaster inside a room at a fraction of the cost and it can be easily changed into something else with a flick of a switch,” he said.
Image top: Escape Challenge Paradigm Mall; image centre: Sentosa Development Corporation officially handed over KidZania Singapore to Sim Leisure Group in July 2023; Image above: Haven XR uses virtual reality goggles to fully immerse visitors as they choose their own path in a 30-minute adventure movie. Credit: Sim Leisure Group
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