(Yicai) July 7 -- Demand for accommodation in the area surrounding Legoland Shanghai Resort soared in the days before the world's biggest theme park dedicated to the famous plastic toy bricks produced by Denmark's The Lego Group opened.

Hotel bookings for the summer holiday starting from July 1 in Jinshan district, where Legoland Shanghai opened on July 5, jumped four and a half times from a year earlier, according to data from travel agency Qunar. Local tourists accounted for about 30 percent of reservations, while the rest mainly came from Beijing, Qingdao, Chengdu, and Nanjing.

Legoland Shanghai underwent nearly two months of internal testing and trial operations before opening to the public. Covering an area of about 318,000 square meters, it is the first Legoland in China and the 11th in the world.

"Our deep understanding of the Chinese consumer and our experience of operating in China for over a decade has allowed us to create Legoland Shanghai as the ultimate theme park and hotel destination," said Fiona Eastwood, chief executive of UK entertainment giant Merlin Entertainments, the park's operator.

"It blends the tried and tested Legoland experience with rich Chinese cultural elements, creating a destination that is both globally recognizable and locally resonant, connecting children with their heritage through imaginative play," Eastwood noted. 

Besides hotels, many tourists picked homestay services, with relevant reservations in Jinshan district surging seven times for the two-month summer holiday from a year ago, according to data from homestay booking platform Tujia. Bookings for family rooms soared eight times.

Driven by the synergy effects between Shanghai's Disneyland and Legoland resorts, the number of homestay bookings in the city has surged 75 percent over this summer holiday from a year earlier, Tujia noted. 

Big themed tourism projects may bring more customers to the surrounding dining, accommodation, transportation, and shopping areas, tourism analyst Zhao Huanyan told Yicai. Disneyland, which opened nine years ago, Legoland, and the Louis Vuitton boat-shaped concept store that opened recently show the vitality of Shanghai's cultural tourism and consumption, Zhao pointed out. 

Legoland Shanghai includes a theme park and a hotel, while a land piece on the west side of the resort will be used for future expansion, Chen Jie, general manager of the resort, said to Yicai. The park's plan for the next five to 10 years is gradually being formulated, Chen added.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev