Park People
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you could jump into and get absolutely murdered! China we therefore believe is one of those markets where you need some local knowledge and partnership, whether it’s with the government or a developer.
What about the Middle East – will Legoland still happen in Dubai? We have signed a contract to build Legoland Dubailand. Obviously we all know what happened with the crash, but so far as I am concerned, our contract with Dubai is still live. They have greatly reduced the scope of their overall leisure plans there, but if I was a betting man, I would say that at some point in the next five years you are going to see both the Universal and Legoland parks opening in Dubai. Our Midway model is also well suited to the region.
You already see aquariums being put into malls in the Middle East and Turkey, but the mistakes many people are making is building them too big for the market, whereas the Sea Life model would be perfect.
At what point do your Midway brands reach critical mass? Is there a risk of them becoming as ubiquitous as McDonald’s or Starbucks? I don’t see that. When I joined Vardon Attractions we had 16 Sea Life centres around the UK, and as soon as we got the chance as Merlin we sold seven of the smaller aquariums in order to focus on those in locations with large enough markets. I don’t think I can see many more aquarium opportunities in the UK for example, and there’s probably room for just one more in Germany. But in North America we’ve only got four, so I think there’s a lot of places we can go there, and then we’ve got the whole Asia-Pacific market too.
Merlin recently relaunched Blackpool Tower and has plans for an observation tower in Weymouth, a host venue during the 2012 Olympic Games. How much do you believe in the British seaside? I believe in certain seaside resorts. I think there are an awful lot trying to be something they can’t. Most coastal resorts, not just in the UK but also in Europe and even America, are feeding a small local market. There are, however, a few resorts that have big enough catchment areas and brand reputations to stand out as major destinations. Blackpool clearly is one of those. It’s certainly never lost its core market of the Midlands right up to Scotland, but we think it can also have national appeal, Others that stand out are Brighton and Bournemouth along the south coast. Places like Scarborough and Skegness are quite big as well, but there aren’t many of them. The Weymouth opportunity came up partly because our head office is based locally in Dorset, and I think that region has got huge potential. There are seven
NOVEMBER 2011 41
huge holiday camps around Weymouth and it’s on the Jurassic Coast, which is a World Heritage Site. Our Weymouth Sea Life Park already does very well, although it’s a slightly different product because it’s got all the aquarium elements but also a rides area, mini waterpark and adventure golf; it’s almost like a half day theme park. So we were delighted to pursue the opportunity to put an observation tower there. It’s also not just about the Olympics, we think it will stack up on its own as a successful tourist attraction for many years to come as a second gate to the existing Sea Life park
What are your plans for the ‘Eye’ brand? We acquired the London Eye in 2007 and have worked very hard on the brand proposition. We have a very clear idea in our mind of what we will brand with the Eye. It’s a very prestigious brand; iconic landmark attractions that afford people an inspiring perspective – a bird’s eye view. The London Eye is an amazing structure, as are our other two ‘Eyes’ – the Blackpool Tower and the Sydney Tower. We were always keen to make the London Eye more than just a ride on an observation wheel. The 4D pre- show is an immersive, emotional, hairs on the back of your neck experience. We put that in because we wanted to build a brand experience, ease throughput and, frankly, wanted to justify a price increase. The pre-show is now also part of the offer in Sydney and Blackpool, and will be anywhere we do an Eye- branded attraction.
Will there be many more Eye-branded observation wheels?
The Eye can be any iconic landmark observation attraction – which may be wheels or towers. We are looking at ‘Eye’ branded wheels in both Orlando and Vegas for example. To me however there are not many
“
You
certainly won’t see Merlin building new resort theme parks from scratch. There’s too much benefit to be gained from doing the other things we are doing. Wise investors would never put money into building a green field site theme park
” Nick Varney at Legoland Florida
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