Warwick Castle

MF: Critical, and this is true whether you are operating a global attraction brand or a single, high quality local attraction. Indeed, you could argue everything is a brand; the only difference is whether it is understood and perceived positively. At Merlin we see brand development and exploitation as our key strength. Every one of our brands has clear values and a position/offer which is reflected in everything we do/all our communications. The bottom line is the whole attraction sector relies on public trust and confidence for its success. That is predicated on consumers understanding what we are offering and then all of us making sure we deliver on our promise.

IP: Is it necessary for parks to invest in new attractions every year or can other things be done to keep people coming back?

MF: It is certainly necessary to continually invest in our attractions and to refresh them, not least to reinforce visitors’ positive attitudes towards them and ensure they visit regularly. However, this does not necessarily mean

a major new development every year. At Merlin we work on an investment cycle for each attraction which involves major investment every two to three years, while in the gaps in between we concentrate on improved customer service initiatives and investment in smaller attractions, events or strong marketing initiatives.

IP:What effects are you seeing the current global economic climate having on the parks and attractions industry?

MF: This is very mixed depending on the type of attraction and its location. For example, those locations/ attractions which rely heavily on tourists have been hit harder, like Florida and southern Europe. Unless of course this has been cancelled out by the benefits derived from weaker currency rates, as in London! Local/regional attractions which rely primarily on domestic visitors on the other hand have held up very well. An excellent example of this are the German theme parks. The other major effect is that visitors’ expectations/ demands have increased considerably. When money

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