A visitor attraction dedicated to video games has been announced as the first project of a planned new tourist destination in China.

Hong Kong-based Lai Fung Holdings’ 18bn yuan (US$2.9bn, €2.1bn, £1.7bn) Creative Culture City development will be located on Hengqin Island – itself undergoing a major transformation to become a tourist hotspot and an alternative to neighbouring Macau, which relies heavily on the gambling industry to bring in visitors.

Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, which officially became the world’s largest aquarium recently, is already located on Hengqin Island, while there are a number of proposed developments aside from Lai Fung’s. A bridge connecting the island to the Chinese mainland will be completed by 2017, ensuring easier access.

Lai Fung’s development will come in phases, and a spokesperson told Attractions Management it would eventually be “one big playground”. The first site on the island it has purchased encompasses 130,064sq m (1,400,000sq ft), and the video games attraction – V-Zone – will form part of this initial phase and is scheduled to open in 2017.

The developer has partnered with US-based Major League Gaming (MLG), a broadcast network for professional level competitive gaming, to build the world’s first MLG Gaming Arena, which will seat 15,000. The V-Zone will also include an expo area for game developers to feature new and upcoming games, creative workspaces, gaming-themed restaurants, and retail shops.

The spokesperson said other attractions that will form part of the 3bn yuan ($480m, €346m, £285m) first phase of the Creative Culture City will be announced in the coming months, with “all possibilities” being considered.

The exact nature of the commercial relationship between Lai Fung and MLG has yet to be formalised, but may see Lai Fung become the real estate owner with MLG being the franchise owner.

The spokesperson said the gaming attraction would target the untapped potential of an industry that “hasn’t had the necessary attention”, while the arena itself could see global knock-out competitions featuring the world’s best players – as already happens in Japan – as well as celebrity match-ups.

Visitor number targets were not revealed, but Lai Fung said it was hoping to draw international traffic, with Chinese visitors expected to dominated given the proximity and huge population of the country.

Lai Fung will hold an 80 per cent interest in the V-Zone, with eSun – another member of the Lai Sun Group – holding a 20 per cent stake.

Mike Sepso, MLG president and co-founder, said the V-Zone was “yet another step” in plans to make competitive gaming “a part of mainstream culture worldwide”.