Hogwarts castle light show at the Universal Studio Beijing Resort Photo:VCG

Just three days after its official opening to much fanfare on Monday, the Universal Studio Beijing Resort is already set to expand significantly in coming years, local officials announced on Thursday, underscoring the vast popularity of the theme park in the Chinese market and massive spending power of Chinese consumers. 

Zhou Weimin, an official from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, announced at a press conference on Thursday that plans for the construction of the second and third phases of the Universal Studio Beijing Resort will be unveiled in due course, as part of a plan to build Beijing into an international consumption city. 

Zhou stressed that the operation of the Universal facility would continue to meet a "high standard" to make it a new landmark for the local cultural and tourism sector.

The official's remarks came just three days after the Beijing Universal resort officially opened on Monday, attracting widespread attention and interests across China. Tickets were reportedly gone in matter of seconds and prices surged significantly. 

Ye Tanglin, executive vice president of the Academy of Metropolis Economic and Social Development under the Capital University of Economics and Business, said that the Universal resort will play a positive role in the construction of Beijing as an international consumption city, as well as its sub-center in the eastern Tongzhou district. 

"The Universal Studio Beijing Resort is one of many projects that can help the construction of Beijing and its sub-center, which will target a boost in the region's entertainment consumption," Ye told the Global Times on Thursday.

Government officials of Tongzhou district predicted at the end of 2017 that the Universal Studio Beijing Resort, which covers an area larger than the total area of the rest of the four other Universal Studios around the world, may create about 100,000 jobs in the area, including approximately 10,000 resort staff. 

"With the construction of the second and third phases of the theme park, job opportunities are likely to be doubled," Jiang Yiyi, deputy head of the School of Leisure Sports and Tourism under the Beijing Sport University, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

However, the construction scale of the second and third phases will determine how many direct job opportunities will be generated, and the type of entertainment facilities will also make a difference, she said. 

The direct increase of job opportunities is far fewer than the indirect stimulation for the surrounding tourism industry, including hotels and restaurants, said Jiang.

The official of the Beijing tourism department didn't reveal the exact time for building the second and third phases, but Jiang suggested that the start of construction will be determined after the park is operating for a period of time.

"The capacity, operation of the park's facilities and Chinese visitors' satisfaction will be the factors that need to be considered by Universal Studio to decide when to expand," said Jiang.