Skift Travel News Blog

Nick Varney, who has led Merlin Entertainment, owner of Legoland and other attractions into one of the largest players in the attractions industry, has announced his intention to retire from the holding company he created in 1999.

Merlin was formed in 1999 following the £47m Management Buyout of Vardon Entertainments led by Nick, who subsequently became CEO of the rebranded group. Since then, Nick has grown the business from 19 attractions to a global attractions company operating 140 attractions, 23 hotels and 6 holiday villages in 24 countries and across 4 continents. During this period, it grew EBITDA from £7m to £569m pre-pandemic, the company said in the press release announcing his retirement.

The company will start a 12-month notice period during which the company board will find another CEO to lead the company, from a mix of internal and external candidates. Mark Fisher, Chief Development Officer, has also decided to retire in the same time period.

South East Asian countries are in a race to reopen all at once, with news last few days from Hong Kong, Singapore, Cambodia and more on cutting restrictions for foreign travelers. The most significant of these is Hong Kong, which has been locked down into the most stringent restrictions anywhere in the world for the last two years: it will allow non-residents to enter from May, and rules for airlines that carry infected COVID-19 patients will also be eased slightly.

For Singapore, all fully vaccinated travelers and non-fully vaccinated children aged 12 will no longer be required to take a pre-departure test or on arrival, and with no quarantine restrictions. Of course this being South East Asia, there is a confusing infographic to go along with it: