3 popular entertainment centers in Istanbul have closed!

It has been reported that the Madame Tussauds wax museum, Sea Life Aquarium, and Legoland Discovery Centre, which have served in Istanbul for years, closed permanently as of January 1. 

Merlin Entertainments, the UK-based company that operates all three institutions, announced that the facilities were not generating sufficient revenue. The famous wax museum Madame Tussauds, located on Istiklal Avenue, as well as the Sea Life Aquarium and Legoland Discovery Centre at the Forum Istanbul shopping mall, did not open their doors in the new year.

According to the report in DW Türkçe, a company spokesperson stated that the decision was made due to the poor commercial performance of the facilities in question. 

THE IMPACT OF INFLATION

High inflation and the declining purchasing power of the Turkish Lira in Turkey are pushing families to cut back on their entertainment budgets.

According to the 2023 consumption trends research published by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) in June 2024, housing, transportation, and food account for the highest shares of household expenditures, respectively. The share of entertainment, sports, and cultural spending in total consumption is only 1.9 percent.

According to TÜİK's 2024 poverty and living conditions statistics, 57.5 percent of individuals in Turkey declare that they cannot afford a one-week vacation away from home, 39.3 percent cannot afford a meal containing meat, chicken, or fish every two days, 26.8 percent cannot cover unexpected expenses, and 15.1 percent cannot meet their heating needs.

The company operates numerous amusement parks in 23 countries, visited by 60 million people annually. Following the closure decision, work has begun to relocate the animals at the Sea Life aquarium in Istanbul to other facilities around the world.