Legoland Malaysia: Keeping it fun even in bad times
WHEN Covid-19 curbs meant that collectors could no longer visit Legoland Malaysia Resort for their favourite brick sets, the theme park went online to stay in touch with Lego fans. The prolonged pandemic closure has been an opportunity for the company to reset and refresh itself, divisional director CS Lim told The Business Times.
Many might call the past 2 years a devastating period for Malaysia's tourism and hospitality industry, ever since movement controls and border closures began in March 2020.
Yet looking on the bright side, Lim described this period as an interesting time that one may not be able to experience in the next 100 years, and a chance to reinvent for future challenges.
Things had been rosy in pre-pandemic times, with over 26 million tourists visiting Malaysia in 2019 and the momentum expected to continue in 2020. Legoland Malaysia, which aims to support Johor to become one of the country's top holiday destinations, had a strong pipeline of activities to attract local and international tourists.
"But all these (activities) had to be halted when the Movement Control Order (MCO) struck in March 2020. It was really a big blow to us – actually not only us, but also to the tourism industry nationwide," said Lim.
Nevertheless, Legoland is in the business of bringing joy to consumers, he added – so he and his team chose to look at things positively and explore new opportunities while the theme park and hotel were closed to the public for nearly a year.
"It hasn't been easy (for the past 2 years)," said Lim, noting that maintenance continued even without visitors. "We didn't know when the borders would reopen, but we had to continue to upkeep the landscape and our attractions for the day to welcome back our customers."
During that time, the team brainstormed on other business ideas to bring in revenue – including expanding to online sales.
“This was in response to our Lego fans, who were crying out that they couldn’t get their favourite brick set as the theme park was closed during MCO. (By going online) it’s a win-win for the customers and us, as the revenue actually sustained us during the hard times,” he said.
Though he declined to reveal specific figures, Lim noted that the revenue from online business has been “significant enough” that Legoland Malaysia chose to continue online sales even after the theme park reopened in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The theme park is also exploring new ideas that could attract different groups of consumers, such as experiential dining in Sea Life Malaysia, one of the attractions in Legoland Malaysia.
Part of Sea Life Malaysia's aquarium area has been turned into a restaurant, offering "underwater" dining. In this exclusive dining experience, guests can enjoy a 4-course meal while being surrounded by sea creatures such as black tip reef sharks and zebra sharks, swimming overhead on the other side of the aquarium glass.
Marking its 10th anniversary this year, Legoland Malaysia is owned by Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah and operated by United Kingdom conglomerate Merlin Entertainments.
It is the only remaining Johor theme park owned by Khazanah, with two others – Sanrio Hello Kitty Town and Thomas Town – having been shut down at end-2019 before the pandemic, due to declining footfall.
Beyond Johor, Legoland Malaysia is also competing with other theme parks in Malaysia, such as Genting SkyWorlds, Sunway Lagoon Theme Park, Sunway Lost World of Tambun and Escape Penang theme park.
Yet despite this intense competition, Lim is confident that Legoland Malaysia will continue to attract visitors for its exclusivity, as the first Lego-themed park in Asia and the only one in South-east Asia, as well as the only international theme park in Malaysia.
In 2019, Legoland Malaysia added Sea Life – the world’s largest international aquarium brand – which is expected to attract visitors to extend their stays in the theme park or make repeat visits.
“We have always been one of the top holiday destinations for family travellers. All the hotel rooms in Legoland Hotel were sold out on many occasions and long weekends during pre-pandemic times,” said Lim, referring to 2019.
Legoland Hotel has 263 rooms in different themes, of which 16 can take up to 8 persons, while the rest can accommodate 5 guests each.
The theme park’s annual pass scheme is one factor that ensures frequent repeat visits, said Lim, adding that the annual passes are also well-received by international tourists such as Singapore travellers.
“Singapore is one of Legoland Malaysia’s key top markets. They (Singaporeans) like Legoland for the proximity to Singapore and it’s a one-stop holiday destination for families. They can play, learn, stay, dine and shop here.”
Pre-pandemic, the theme park’s business was also supported by tourists from China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia, Japan and Korea. As more countries begin to open their international borders, Malaysia's tourism industry is seeing light at the end of the tunnel, said Lim.
Lim is upbeat on growth, given that Legoland Malaysia has seen increasing ticket sales and room bookings since Malaysia's own borders reopened in April.
“The signs have been encouraging, but there are still things that need to be sorted out such as the availability of flights and buses (between Johor Bahru and Singapore). We believe things will be better in another few months and we have prepared a line of activities to welcome the visitors back to this fun land,” he added.
