CEO John Duffey is overseeing Six Flags’ expansion into China

Ground 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
“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 with the disposable income and desire for these experiences. According to AECOM, already 700 million Chinese can afford to visit a theme park – a figure that’s expected to reach 1 billion by 2020. And the abolition of the country’s one-child policy this year (the law has been revised to allow two children) is also likely to boost attendance and in-park spending in the future.

However, while more than 60 theme parks are under construction in China, and Disney and Universal are joining the market, there are only an estimated 850 amusement attractions in total, serving a population of 1.38 billion people. Many of those attractions will be low-quality local parks, and of the top 25 most-visited theme parks in the world in 2014, only two of them were in mainland China. The country’s leading operators by attendance – OCT Group (10 parks, including the Happy Valley chain), Chimelong Group (two parks), Songcheng Group (six parks) – clocked up 47 million visits in 2014, less than 0.5 per cent of the population.

Thrills for China
For Duffey, there’s more than enough space in the market. The company’s own psychographic research in China revealed people wanted more thrills and more record-breaking rides. As a highly profitable regional park operator – with 18 North American parks attracting 28 million guests per year – it’s the same qualities that make Six Flags successful at home that are attracting investors abroad.

“Six Flags is already a global brand, one of the most recognisable in the world,” he says. “Our product offering is unique and appeals to a wide range of people and there is growing interest from other countries who want to be a part of our signature brand of thrills and innovation.”

While closely following the Six Flags brand in its new destination parks – offering signature thrill rides and record-breaking rollercoasters, alongside family and kids’ rides, water rides, concerts and shows – Duffey isn’t saying they have to be replicas.

“We have an operating model that works and our international properties will follow that model, but these parks will also be tailored to their specific region. The theming, the shows, along with the food and retail offerings will reflect the customs and cultures of the local markets.”

It’s been a complete turnaround for the company, which in 2009 was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. Six Flags had struggled through the 2000s, was forced to sell off its European assets and several US parks, but failed to make a dent in its $2.4bn (£1.6bn, €2.2bn) of debt. Former CEO Jim Reid-Anderson took the reins in August 2010, steering the company to a remarkable recovery. He came up with a strategy to reinvest 9 per cent of revenue each year in brand new attractions, got rid of ticket discounts that were just too generous and streamlined operations to improve efficiency.

Duffey was Reid-Anderson’s right-hand man during this time, serving as CFO from September 2010, until taking over as president and CEO in February this year. Prior to that, the two worked together at Dade Behring, leading it through debt restructuring before selling it to Siemens for $7bn (£4.8bn, €6.2bn) in 2006. Now in charge of Six Flags, Duffey continues to follow the successful strategies that have seen $2bn (£1.4bn, €1.8bn) returned to shareholders over the past six years.

“We had our sixth consecutive year of record performance in 2015 and the first quarter of 2016 was our 23rd record quarter out of the last 24 quarters,” Duffey says. “Our guest satisfaction ratings are among the highest in our history. We are laser-focused on providing a world-class experience to our guests and delivering new rides and attractions in every park every year. We have consistently been recognised globally by our guests and the industry as offering the best-in-class rides and attractions. Our line-up for 2016 is the best we’ve ever had.”

The line-up for the season certainly is exciting. The US’ first VR coaster experiences are rolling out across nine parks; last year’s award-winning Justice League: Battle for Metropolis is coming to Six Flags Great America and Six Flags Mexico; a seven-storey loop coaster called Fireball is set to up the thrills at Six Flags New England and Six Flags St Louis; Six Flags America is adding Splashwater Falls, a giant interactive water playground, and Six Flags Over Georgia introduces the world’s first DC Super Friends themed children’s area – to name just a few.

“Strategic innovation is an important key to our success. We’ve been deliberate in our efforts to enhance the guest experience by offering innovative rides, attractions and services. Our capital strategy to have something new that we can effectively market at every park every year, as well as our season pass strategy, has contributed to significant growth in attendance.”

Team morale
As regional parks rely heavily on return visitors, it’s vital to offer season passes at carefully considered prices. Six Flags staff are trained to promote the season pass and membership options by helping customers see the value in them.

“Our pass base is up 24 per cent and we’re seeing strong sales growth in our All Season Dining Pass,” says Duffey. “Because we’re investing in Fright Fest and Holiday in the Park, guests have multiple opportunities to visit our parks each year.”

Lastly, Duffey says the company owes its successes to its staff and that it endeavours to keep them happy.

“We have some of the brightest minds in the industry on our team and their commitment is inspiring. We re-instated a number of employee benefits to reward and acknowledge their hard work, and as a result team morale has never been higher.”

Six Flags serves the top 10 demographic markets in the US and Duffey says he does not anticipate building any new theme parks in the region. Instead, Six Flags at home is poised to enjoy further benefits of an innovative and well-run company in the marketplace. Abroad, Six Flags and its partners are set to charter new territories in the next chapter of its story. If it maintains its focus on innovation, guest experience and employee satisfaction, its journey into Asia should be a Great Adventure.