(Yicai Global) Aug. 25 -- As the Covid-19 pandemic eases, visitor numbers to Sunac China Holdings’ theme parks has returned to between 70 percent and 80 percent of normal levels, according to the company’s executive president.

Numbers and revenue at the developer’s theme park business have doubled in recent months, Lu Peng said in an exclusive interview with Yicai Global. Most of the visitors live just an hour or two by car from one of the parks, he added.

“The pandemic had a significant impact on our business initially,” said Lu, who is also president of Sunac Culture & Tourism Group. “But as various assets gradually recovered, Sunac Culture’s cash flow was back to positive in May.”

All of the Tianjin-based company’s theme parks were closed and it opened just 10 hotels between January and February, with the overall occupancy rate below 10 percent. Its tourism assets include 49 theme parks, 48 commercial projects and nearly 150 high-end hotels, covering more than 10 themes, including snow, sea, and water.

The firm brought in a raft of measures in response to the pandemic, Lu said. All its parks implemented open operations after the outbreak. Visitors do not need to buy tickets for all attractions. They can just pay for those they want after entering a park.

This new business model is attracting more visitors, stimulating consumption, and may also lead to a new trend in the company’s business transformation, Lu said.

Sunac will continue to expand projects integrating commerce, theme parks and hotels in core cities, and cooperate with brands through joint ventures to set up skiing projects, water sports and other experiential amusement facilities in shopping malls, Lu said. Sunac will also invest in various projects in tourist destinations in Hainan and Yunnan provinces.

“We need to rationalize the asset structure and expand steadily,” he said. “We need to develop rationally and adjust our strategies appropriately, especially amid the epidemic this year.”

Editors: Tang Shihua, Peter Thomas