Visitors to theme parks in China expect virtual reality experiences and robotic guides at the country’s resorts within the next three years, new research indicates.

According to a survey by UK-based Omnico, 70 per cent of respondents are anticipating virtual reality attractions to flood Chinese theme parks by 2020, while 49 per cent of those surveyed said they expect to enjoy augmented reality games or to be personally assisted by robots.

The findings feature in the first Omnico Chinese Theme Park Barometer, which explores the expectations of 670 guests at Chinese theme parks.

“These results show that tech-savvy visitors now want technology to enhance their enjoyment and take all the hassle out of their visits to theme parks,” said Omnico CEO, Mel Taylor.

“Virtual reality, augmented reality and AI robots are technologies that fun-loving visitors are increasingly familiar with and expect to benefit from very soon. Expectations are high – nearly a third believe they will see holographic assistants at parks within three years.”

Hangzhou had the highest number of visitors expecting VR experiences (83 per cent), compared with 76 per cent in both Shenzhen and Nanjing, and 71 per cent in Beijing.

More than half the guests in Canton (55 per cent) said robots will be giving them personal assistance within three years, while visitors in Shenzhen were most optimistic among those surveyed about a Siri-like personal digital assistant becoming a reality (48 per cent).

“Making this a reality does not require major investment in completely new solutions, but intelligent integration of all the pieces in the jigsaw, from point-of-sale systems to CRM and loyalty personalisation,” Taylor said.