As Pop Mart continues to achieve success, including its theme parks.

An interesting question has emerged: What exactly do visitors to Pop Mart乐园 get in return for the real money they spend?

There are no thrilling rides like those at Disney, nor the grand narratives found at Universal Studios. The relatively small park feels more like a meticulously designed, massive immersive experience. “Scene.”

If measured by the standards of a traditional amusement park, it seems to be everywhere. “Fail.”

However, on the weekend, Chaoyang Park was still bustling with people—young faces held up their phones, and... Molly In front of the castle, Dimoo In the forest, we were searching for the best shooting angle.

The answer, obviously, does not lie in those quantifiable hardware facilities. To understand the essence of this expenditure, we must dive beneath the surface and observe those intangible yet critically important exchanges of value. This may be the best window for us traditional practitioners to understand today’s new consumption trends in culture and tourism.

First-tier consumption Yes A match “ IP The sense of ritual in “pilgrimage” 。

First, tourists are consuming a... “Pilgrimage right.”

For Pop Mart’s core fans, this has long gone beyond mere... “Play.” What they’re consuming is the right to enter a fictional world—a “holy land.” In the past, Molly 、 Dimoo 、 Skullpanda These IP Only exists 59 In Yuan’s blind boxes, in the glass display cases at the exhibition, and on the corner of his desk—these objects are companions, they’re collectibles, yet they always remain separated from the real world by a “dimensional wall.”

The emergence of the paradise shattered this barrier once and for all. The one you’ve coveted countless times—finally within your grasp... The “hidden gem,” standing before you in life-size sculpture form, when... Dimoo When the forest ceases to be merely a backdrop on a card and instead becomes a setting you can step into, touch, and breathe in, a powerful sense of “reality” and “belonging” naturally arises. This is an emotional amplifier—projecting the emotions long accumulated on tiny toys, instantly magnifying them countless times over.

Therefore, under this logic, the high ticket prices, pricey food and beverage options, and limited-edition merchandise all make sense. “Incense money.” These are not merely the prices of goods; rather, they represent the costs that must be incurred to complete this “pilgrimage” ritual. What visitors purchase here is a way to affirm their connection with this... IP “Evidence” of a profound connection between them.

Second-tier consumption Yes Once The Social Performance of “Identity” 。

Deeper than pilgrimage is... Consumption of “identity.”

In the paradise, you’re no longer just an ordinary tourist—you’re a... “Know-it-all” insiders. You can spot at a glance the less popular one in the corner. Labubu Being able to understand which series of stories a particular scene corresponds to—this sense of superiority derived from the “knowledge barrier”—is an extremely important part of the park experience.

This is a typical one. “Social currency” consumption. The amusement park itself is a massive “social currency mint”—a place that’s meant to be shared.

What tourists spend here is something they’ll be able to show off on Xiaohongshu, Moments, and Weibo in the coming days—or even weeks. “Social capital.” Every carefully composed and color-balanced photograph, every segment with... IP The interactive short videos are all outwardly proclaiming: “Look, I’m a member of POP MART, and I understand and love this culture.” This kind of presentation satisfies the core needs of today’s young people—building their self-image and finding like-minded peers on social networks.

Almost every corner of the paradise is dedicated to this. The “showcase” has been optimized to the extreme. From the interplay of light and shadow to the color palette, every detail exudes ingenious design that seems tailor-made for taking photos. What visitors are actually paying for is this very “designed desire to share.” They’re not buying the amusement park itself; rather, they’re purchasing the “social ammunition”—the “material library” provided by the park—that can be repurposed and shared for secondary creation and dissemination.

Third-tier consumption Yes One kind The Experience Economy of “Being Present” 。

Peeling away the veneer of pilgrimage and socializing, the most essential consumption is: The experience of “being present.”

In the age of the experience economy, consumers often buy not products themselves, but rather their own time and feelings. Pop Mart乐园 has precisely grasped this point. What it sells is not... Not “fun,” but “easy to shoot” and “easy to work with.”

There are no thrilling, long-line attractions here, meaning visitors can enjoy themselves in a more relaxed and self-directed way. “Pass the time.” You can... Molly Have a cup of coffee under the castle and watch the comings and goings of people; you can... Dimoo Find a bench in the forest and simply let your mind go blank. This experience of “uselessness that is actually useful” is precisely the most precious luxury that’s increasingly scarce in today’s high-pressure urban life.

Tourists are consuming a segment. “Being” IP “A time enveloped in atmosphere.” During this period, the worries of the real world are temporarily set aside, and they enter a “safe zone” composed of adorable, dreamy, and healing elements. This emotional value cannot be measured by cost-effectiveness, yet it directly touches people’s hearts. It’s a kind of spiritual “affordable luxury.” SPA ”。

A paradise is essentially a huge, three-dimensional, and accessible space. “Mystery boxes.” When tourists buy tickets, it’s as if they’re “opening” these mystery boxes—inside, there aren’t specific toys, but rather a unique, one-of-a-kind “presence” memory that belongs solely to them.

Of course, from a business logic perspective, Pop Mart’s theme park also faces serious scrutiny.

First, there's the challenge of repeat purchase rates. As an amusement park whose core experience revolves around static viewing and photography, its sense of novelty may fade much faster than that of traditional amusement parks. When the first group... After “pilgrims” and “check-in enthusiasts” complete their purchases, how can the amusement park continuously create new content that will entice them to return? This is a real test for Pop Mart. IP The “hematopoietic capacity” for operations and content updates.

Second, it is IP The risk of dilution of the image. Trendy toys that were originally shrouded in mystery and prized for their collectibility. IP Will excessive “leisureization” and “everyday-ization” weaken its original coolness and scarcity? When a... IP Visible everywhere—can it still maintain that unique emotional premium in the hearts of its fans?

Perhaps Pop Mart itself is also searching for answers to these questions. This amusement park is more like a bold social experiment—it seeks to validate a central proposition: one that originates from consumer goods. IP Can we accomplish the ultimate leap—from “commodity” to “cultural symbol” within physical spaces and thereby build a sustainable business ecosystem?

Ultimately, returning to the original question: What are tourists spending on?

What they consume is the materialization of emotional projection, the affirmation of social identity, and a carefully crafted, shareable experience. “A presence” in time. What they’re buying isn’t a ticket—it’s a one-way pass to an ideal spiritual world, even if that world is only temporary and artificial.

In this small world of ours, what we’re witnessing may not just be the triumph of trendy toys—but rather the true arrival of a new era of consumption, one in which “emotions” and “identity” have become the currency.

And this, perhaps, is the “Brief History of the Future” that all cultural and tourism professionals need to study carefully.