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My mission at BALPPA
As the new chief executive of BALPPA, I am greatly looking forward to representing the interests of the UK private sector visitor attractions industry and to further pursue the association’s lobbying goals.
Yield Management
For the last decade, I have been perplexed by rising prices at theme parks. I have also been concerned about the enormous amount of discounting that parks and attractions find necessary to continue to “pump up” attendance.
The Price Is Right – or is it?
As a new approaches at many of the world's parks and attractions, pricing decisions must be made. Frequently managers make such decisions based on costs rather than market realities.
I have an idea but is it feasible?
In my opinion the most important aspect in the planning and development of a leisure project is the “First Step” – the feasibility study.
Taking Care of Business
In this month’s Big Question (see page 5) we ask selected park operators what caught their eye at this winter’s trade shows. Nobody asked me, but I'll tell you anyway.
‘It’s all about discounting and earnings‘
As I look at our industry and large corporations that now dominate ownership, one thing comes clearly through: “It’s all about earnings.” That is not a bad thing, but make no mistake, this is the driving force that charts the course for public companies.
Thoughts on Theming
We are often asked by clients at International Theme Park Services how much theming should be given to an attraction. I believe the answer is easy …keep it simple and do not over-theme. Theming is necessary but also expensive.
Six Flags - not just chicken tenders anymore!
In the last four seasons, Six Flags parks across the United States have gone through a dramatic transformation. We are especially proud of the improvements we have made in our food locations.
Inspiring the Employees of Tomorrow
Each year at IAAPA Attractions Expo, the association features some wonderful young folks called “ambassadors.”
What is 5D?
Is 5D just a marketing gag? That’s how some perceive it. Others argue that adding movement to 4D effects and 3D film does the trick. Here Dr Gerhard Frank attempts to settle the debate once and for all. Read on, then have your say here...
Visibile Management
There are many things that contribute to the success of a leisure attraction – design, marketing, maintenance, safety, finance, food, beverage and retail. However, the most important factor in making sure all of these items function at peak is visible management.
Time for a Check-up
At this time of continued financial pressure, it is time to think critically about managerial functions and attitudes throughout our industry. The parks and attractions industry is not devoid of the problems that are facing other businesses around the world, but we also have to ask ourselves a number of unique questions.
Making Your Park’s Dining Unique
The food service at Ocean Park in Hong Kong is the most inspired I’ve ever seen in a theme park. If ever you visit, be sure to check out the Bayview Restaurant and Terrace Café (pictured).
Smell your way to success!
New science shows that highly emotional experiences can be “tattooed” into a patron’s mind with the introduction of branded signature scent, and then replicated at a later point and time – specifically at the point of sale. Amusement park and entertainment venue operators are in a prime position to profit from this latest research.
Be Original
We are commoditising our parks. We are using meetings like IAAPA, Euro Attractions Show and Asian Attractions Expo to copy rather than inspire each other. Identical solutions are appearing everywhere for everything. Our attractions are all starting to look alike.
An industry on the brink of boiling point
In 2006 Liu Jingwang, now chairman of the Chinese Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (CAAPA), voiced concerns about the “overheating” of the domestic industry. Two years on, he tells Park World the situation is about to reach boiling point.
Make a fluid decision to go green!
When it comes to the environment, social responsibility is no longer just an option. Environmental awareness is top-of-mind to many consumers and businesses.
The US economy and the leisure market
I intended to start this piece on another topic, but in light of everything that is going on here in the US, decided perhaps it would be better to reflect on the economy and how its is affecting the industry on a global scale.
Disney Dining Success
Several times now I’ve written about promotional plans for dining, including the packaged dinner that was offered for a while in Disney’s Animal Kingdom and a similar type of plan that was offered at Universal Studios.
Learning from marketing errors
Over the years the error of not researching things properly and clearly has lead to numerous incorrect market decisions. In the case of New Coke a few years back, the Coca Cola Company extensively tested the product and found that its new formula tasted better.
Priced out of the market?
I have read in recent weeks of the common threat to coastal amusement parks by rising land costs and taxes due to development, and the near mandatory practice of putting up condominiums. That issue is especially sensitive to our park in Ocean City, Maryland. We are pleading with the various levels of government to find a way for us to co-exist in this real estate boom/fiasco. Even if we can survive [ the park has just got another year's reprieve], it means higher taxes, and that translates to higher ticket prices.
Copyrights and Culture
My spring trips to China gave me a chance to ponder the current issues regarding copyrights and the attractions industry.
Green taxation
Across the globe rates of entertainment tax vary greatly, but they need not always dip into a venue’s profitabilility. Some operators have attempted to secure a zero rate, and in a few cases they have even been successful, the Malaysian trade association MAAFTA recently succeeding thanks to a government that is clearly keen to encourage tourism development.
Effective Hiring
Picking up where Kevin Williams left off in the May issue (see link at bottom of page), I would like to discuss how park and attractions can avoid a costly lesson by instituting screening technologies into the staff hiring process.
Added-value merchandising
We’ve profiled several successful and not so successful examples of merchandising in these columns over the past few months. Now I’d like to offer a more global and critical analysis some of the mechanisms used when it comes to retailing within venues.
Frontline Staff
A hard reality for any park or attraction operator will always be the fact that the whole public perception of the venue is based on the one issue they have the least control over ...their staff!
Selling in the leisure environment
As readers of my columns in the past will know, I first coined the phrase “leisurized marketing” in the early 1980s. It was much later, in the 1990s, when Disney came along with its creative term “merchantainment.”
2007 - will this be a year of change?
Park World has introduced a new blogging facility where we will publish comment pieces by industry members and regular contributors to the magazine. Gerry Robinson gets the ball rolling this month with his observations on trade shows. Here’s the full – online only – text.
