Plans for a Madame Tussauds in Sydney by 2012
- From: AAP
- March 03, 2011
THE European company which has taken control of several Australian tourist attractions says it plans to open a Madame Tussauds wax museum in Sydney in 2012.
Merlin Entertainments Group's $115 million purchase of Village Roadshow Ltd's Sydney Attractions subsidiary was completed on Thursday, sealing the European group's entry into the Australian market.
Sydney Attractions includes Sydney Aquarium, Sydney Wildlife World, Oceanworld Manly, Sydney Tower Observation Deck and Sky Walk, Hamilton Island Wildlife Park in Queensland, and Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Encounter and Underwater World in Auckland.
Merlin said it would invest several million dollars in the six Australian attractions.
On top of that, it wants to expand its Madame Tussauds operations to Sydney, strengthening its presence in the Asia Pacific region.
Merlin has opened Madame Tussauds attractions in Hong Kong and Bangkok, and will be opening another of its attraction, Legoland, in Malaysia in 2012.
Merlin's Australia and New Zealand divisional director Edward Fuller said the newly acquired Australian attractions will complement Merlin's business.
"These are exciting attractions with enormous potential," he said in a statement.
"They are well established and of a very high quality, and I believe will benefit greatly by being part of the Merlin family."
Based in the UK, the privately-owned Merlin owns 64 attractions, six hotels and two holiday villages in 14 different countries.
