Unique leisure facility attracts three million people in its first year
THE £150m Resorts World Birmingham complex has marked its first anniversary with the news that in the 12 months since it opened more than three million people have passed through the venue.
Resorts World is Europe’s first large scale resort destination to combine shopping, bars, restaurants, conferencing, cinema, hotel and spa and gaming all under one roof.
Its outlet mall includes 50 leading retailers including Nike Factory Store, H&M, Next Outlet and Gap Outlet. Two new retailers will shortly join the line-up including world famous toy shop Hamleys and fashion store Religion.
Resorts World Birmingham is home to Europe’s first Genting Hotel and also includes the venue’s casino. Within its first year the hotel has hosted more than 50,000 guests.
The Vox Conference Centre, which is run by the NEC Group, has hosted 100 events since last autumn, with 30,000 delegates attending the various events.
The complex has also benefitted from the proximity of the NEC and Genting Arena. This was a critical factor in Resorts World choosing the site originally.
The strategy is proving successful with the arena attracting high profile events such as last December’s BBC Music Awards and later this year the return of BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
The venue is also continuing to build on its partnerships with key organisations within the region, including Shakespeare’s England, Marketing Birmingham, Birmingham and Solihull Chamber and Birmingham Airport.
To commemorate the Resort’s first birthday, a specially commissioned water feature has been installed on Pendigo Lake in the resort grounds. The installation is the first permanent feature to be placed on the lake for 40 years and is made up of eight large flowers indigenous to Asia and reflects Resorts World Birmingham’s Malaysian heritage. The concept was conceived and created by Black Country public realm artist, Mick Thacker.
Commenting on the Resort’s first year of trading, Ian Bennett, Resorts World Birmingham Operations Director said: “Since opening our doors over three million people have been welcomed and as we expected we have attracted visitors from the local, national and international markets.”
He said the venue had also been successful in building up a loyal local customer base, which frequented the mall, cinema and its bars and restaurants.
“We are also now seeing repeat stays from business travellers who visit the NEC for exhibitions and conferences,” added Mr Bennett.
“We have been delighted with the results of our first year, the outlet shopping offer is becoming firmly established, our hotel is performing well, the Resort’s restaurants, bars, casino and spa are all developing their audiences and we are looking forward to building on the success of our first 12 months as we embark on our second year.”
First Year Facts
• Resorts World Birmingham (RWB) shares its birthday (October 21) with reality star Kim Kardashian
• In December 2015 RWB played host to the after-show party at first BBC Music Awards to be held outside of London.
• In its first year 568, 275 cars have parked at RWB’s car park.
• The World Bar has served a total of 40 different beers from 14 countries, from Iceland to Barbados, to Sweden to Japan.
• The Genting Hotel has been rated in the top four hotels in Birmingham by Trip Advisor.
• The Genting Hotel has welcomed 51,321 guests in its first year and they have used 32,327 bottles of shampoo.
• Seven couples have spent their wedding night at the Genting Hotel and one wedding proposal has been made in the spa’s outside Jacuzzi.
• The ‘Central Perk’ is the most popular cocktail over the past year at the High Line New York Bar & Lounge
• Channel Five’s Gadget Show pitched the latest cleaning gadgets against the Genting Hotel’s housekeeping team and lost on speed and quality. In the first year, 30,000 hours have been spent on cleaning the building.
• The distance covered in the first year by balls spinning in their roulette wheels is equivalent to 52,200 miles.
• The Vox Conference Centre has hosted 100 events and welcomed 30,000 delegates.
• As the first installation on Pendigo Lake in 40 years, Resort World’s “Flotilla” installation took 12 weeks to create each platform and is made up of a total of 86 different components and then took a team of 32 people to manufacture and install.
• The resort extends to 540,000sq ft, which is equivalent to 50 football pitches.
• Famous guests to visit RWB have included George Foreman, Lord Sugar, Bradley Walsh, Paul O’Grady and Eamonn Holmes.
• RWB website has had 1,919,051 hits.
