Chinese theme park attendance figures are predicted to surpass US numbers by 2020, according to US consultants Aecom.

With more than 60 theme parks in development, China is currently experiencing a theme park boom, with Asia the new hot commodity for theme park developers.

In 2010, the US recorded 220 million visitors to its theme parks, while China recorded a comparatively feeble 60 million in the same year. That is soon to change however, with China predicted to hit 127 million visitors by the end of 2015 and, as the number of facilities increases, those numbers are expected to rise significantly. The Chinese market is predicted to draw more than 221 million annually by 2020, which will see the Asian nation outstrip the US market to become theme park capital of the world.

Several US businesses are leading the charge into China, with Shanghai Disneyland coming in 2015, Dreamworks opening a Shanghai theme park in 2016 and Universal recently announcing a US$3.3bn (€2.6bn, £2bn) theme park in China to open in 2019, after more than a decade of attempting to enter the market.

The current market leader for Asia is Japan, though Aecom has forecast that China will become the theme park superpower in Asia when Shanghai Disneyland launches next year.