Disney Doesn’t Own Its Tokyo Parks But Still Finds Them Lucrative
Photo Credit: Tokyo Disney Resort is a key part of Disney's theme park empire. The resort is pictured here. Flickr / takosaka
Skift Take
While much is written about the U.S. and Shanghai parks, Disney’s partnership in Japan contributes high margin licensing fees and promotes the Disney brand.
Disney is by far the largest entertainment conglomerate in the world, with its massive parks and resorts unit representing its travel footprint. This segment generated more revenue than industry powerhouses like Priceline, Expedia, Marriott, and Hilton. Parks and resorts may represent less than a third of Disney’s sales directly, but it’s a crucial consumer touchpoint facilitating Disney’s cross-monetization of content.
In our full report, A Deep Dive Into Disney’s Competitive Position In Travel, we discussed each individual theme park, peering into the specific economic contributions and ownership structures. We analyzed attendance trends, pricing power, new expansion projects, and competition. In the excerpt below, we provide our analysis of the Tokyo Disney Resort, which operates under an asset-light royalty model, giving the resort more importance than one would expect at first glance. Additionally, it reinforces the Disney brand in Asia for the studio and consumer produ
