Enchanted Kingdom shelves Cebu expansion

Theme park developer Enchanted Kingdom Inc. (EK) has shelved its plan to establish a facility in Cebu, to seize the US$100 million animation industry potential in the Philippines.

"We are prioritizing our plan to establish a Special Interest Economic, next to our 16-hectare property in Laguna, to help the small Filipino animators grow and achieve their potential." said Dennis N. Cruz vice president for marketing services and business development of EK.

Although, he said that the company has received a letter of interest from a Cebuano investor expressing interest to partner with EK to establish a theme park facility in Cebu, nothing final has yet been achieved by both parties.

According to Cruz, EK will offer a semi-franchise deal if ever the company were to decide on building another Enchanted Kingdom in Cebu. This means, that the company is inclined to offer its expertise and franchise name, but the investment in infrastructure will be shouldered by a partner, or the franchisee.

The company owned by Mario O. Mamon invested about P1.2 billion to establish the 16-hectare Enchanted Kingdom in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, in Manila more than 10 years ago.

According to Cruz the company is currently focusing on acquiring more properties next to the theme park, to expand it to 25-hectares to build up the Special Interest Economic Zone that will house animation companies in the Philippines.

At this point, there are about 23 animation houses in the Philippines, most of these, if not all, are operated by small companies, or home-based operations, thus making it hard for them to utilize their full potential.

The creation of a Special Interest Economic Zone of EK, will help these small animation houses to enjoy the incentives given by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and establish their ground, thereby expecting growth.

Cruz, who is also an active member of the Philippine Animation Council, said that of the US$100 million animation industry potential in the Philippines, only US$40 million has been captured by Filipino animators.

"We have a huge untapped potential in the animation industry," Cruz said in an interview on the sidelines of the 3rd Travel and Lifestyle Show which formally opened last Friday at the SM City Cebu Trade Hall.

The planned Special Economic Zone, will not only house the animation houses in the Philippines, but also other related industry such as film back-lot, creative industry, as well as the establishment of the Institute for Animation.

Enchanted Kingdom Inc. plans to venture into this profitable animation industry, making it the Philippine version of Walt Disney.

The 10-year-old Enchanted Kingdom is generating an average of one million visitors a year.

Now, it has ventured into active marketing campaign to lure the huge market in the Southern Philippines, starting with Cebu.

Initially, Enchanted Kingdom (EK) has already entered into the filmmaking industry, through the production of the movie "Exodus", but instead of making it an entire "cartoon" movie, Mamon said earlier that the company preferred to utilize "real" persons, or movie actors.