Apart from being Southeast Asia’s ‘shiny, new toy’ in the years to come, the theme park will create thousands of jobs for Indonesians who have been heavily impacted by the tourism slump.

The realisation that most countries will have to contend with a pandemic that hasn’t shown signs of diminishing at all, has got governments across the world scrambling to come up with all kinds of contingency plans to save crumbling economies.

The difficult choice of imposed lockdowns and strict travel restrictions have obliterated economies and businesses all over Southeast Asia that rely heavily on tourism revenues. Countries like Thailand have recently had to open up certain islands like Phuket and Samui despite the imposed risks, in order to resuscitate their tourism industry. Governments across the board are frantically trying to formulate solid plans to recover from the devastating tourist slump.

ENTER BALI: SOUTHEAST ASIA’S LARGEST THEME PARK IS SLATED FOR A SOFT LAUNCH IN 2025

Recent reports revealed that Paramount Pictures have made a signed deal with Indonesian company, PT Kios Ria Kreasi, to build a theme park in the Jembrana regency of southwest of Bali.

Indonesia’s People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker, Bambang Soesatyo, said that the new deal is set to help Bali boost its economy and international tourism standing, post-pandemic.

“The development of Paramount theme park will strengthen Bali’s position as a recreational and entertainment hub for world citizens,” said Bambang, who is also known as Bamsoet.

“It will also improve Bali’s economy, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Bamsoet also explained that the targeted location of the theme park (the Gilimanuk-Mengwi toll road development area) is very strategic as the entire road stretches 95 kilometers, connecting the Gilimanuk port to the cities of Denpasar, Badung, Gianyar, and Tabanan.

This enables easy access to all connecting areas that will enable high traffic to the theme park. With a soft launch islated for 2025, the theme park is expected to attract up to five million visitors annually.

“It will make Bali even more charming in the eyes of world tourists,” Bamsoet added.

PARAMOUNT HAS REMAINED MUM DESPITE WIDE MEDIA COVERAGE

Although Paramount has yet to say anything on the new business deal, confirmation from Bali officials seem concrete. Having an action plan in place for when the pandemic finally recedes, ensures jobs for thousands of locals who have been severely impacted in the last two years.

A world-renowned production company backing a new theme park in the region is just the ticket to boost Bali’s tourism economy when vaccinated tourists are allowed in the country again. And who can say no to Bali if they have the chance? Being one of Southeast Asia’s more popular holiday destinations, Bali will definitely see increased foreign and domestic tourism especially with a ‘shiny, new toy’ to show off.

Although hopes are high for the tourism industry to eventually recover, only time will reveal how successful the execution will be. Critics, who have made note of Bali already having been ‘loved to death’ before the pandemic will point out that a massive theme park in Bali is precisely what the island doesn’t need. But it seems very unlikely that their criticism will sway the project.

“Their presence in investing shows that Indonesia is very friendly to investors. It also shows that there are still many investment opportunities that investors can work on, especially in the tourism sector,” Bamsoet explained, alluding to the possibility of a trickle-down effect on other tourism hotspots in the country.

“Not only Bali, Indonesia also has many other favorite tourist destinations such as Lombok, Belitung, Lake Toba, to Labuan Bajo.”