Japanese travel agency HIS Co. is relinquishing its entire stake in Huis Ten Bosch, which is one of the country’s largest theme parks.
The Tokyo-based firm is to transfer its 66.7% stake in the theme park to the Hong Kong investment fund Pacific Alliance Group for about 66.7 billion yen (£410m). New owner Pacific Alliance Group is expected to continue operations of Huis Ten Bosch. The fund also has investments in the operator of Universal Studios Japan in Osaka.
The park’s five other stakeholders, including Kyushu Railway Co. and Kyushu Electric Power Co., are also expected to sell their shares to the fund.
Huis Ten Bosch is named after the Netherlands’ royal palace in The Hague in recognition of the deep ties between Nagasaki and the European nation, which began in 1609.
It recreates the landscape of a traditional Dutch town, with many Dutch-style historic buildings such as hotels, museums, theatres, shops and restaurants. The theme park features iconic aspects of the Netherlands such as windmills, canals and a park featuring tulips and other seasonal flowers, all interspersed with amusements and attractions.
It is also home to Henn na Hotel, which holds a Guinness World Record for being the world’s first hotel to be staffed by working robots.
The loss of inbound and domestic tourism revenue as a result of the pandemic is thought to have been a factor in HIS’s move to sell the park, which attracted 3.1 million visitors in the fiscal year ending September 2015.
