Front Gate
www.parkworld-online.com
BigQuestion
What will be a more realistic goal in 2012 – raising gate prices or increasing in-park spending?
Carl Lum, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, USA: In reality, it will be a combination of both. The day is long over where you can just pass along a 6% gate increase by itself and have it stick. Consumers have fundamentally changed their mindset in our new economy. Price increases must be perceived by our guests as having the product and guest experience that capture that value. This means investing capital, always improving guest service and being flexible in how you deploy your pricing strategy based on consumer feedback. Growing per capita spending happens through the relentless exercise of constant innovation and quality products at fair price points. It is much like cutting your grass, when you think you are done, it’s time to start again. It’s much more complicated and demanding now, but also more rewarding when you get it right.
Angelique Klar, Slagharen, The Netherlands: In order to refine our dynamic pricing/yield management model and earn more money, we will raise our highest price by €3 in 2012. Prices on food & beverage, games and retail will stay at the same level, but we will focus on pre-ordered F&B packages and games tickets through the internet. Of course the customer will receive a benefit if they order these supplements upfront. So, while we will not raise our prices in this way we hope to increase in-park spending overall.
Jerry Brick, Lake Compounce, USA: For us the bigger challenge will be raising gate prices. While per capita spending is going to increase in some areas, there are other areas of the park that we are still uncertain about and that causes a lot uncertainty in the per capita spending.
Figures of Fun
1.3
million – visitors during 2011 to Movie Park in Germany – a 6% increase over 2010. New attraction Van Helsing’s Factory is believed to have boosted attendance
5.9
million – attendance in 12-months to June 2011 at Ocean Park – a new record for the Hong Kong attraction
20
per cent – increase in attendance at Familypark Neusiedlersee in Austria, which finished the season with 410,000 guests
700
Ups & Downs
Dead Dolphins – Two dolphins died just days after a music festival at Connyland in Lipperswil, Switzerland. Animal activists claim loud “rave” music distressed the mammals
Back on Boardwalk – Zamperla USA has signed a new lease with local businesses it had previously asked to leave Coney Island in New York. “We understand how important Coney Island is to the Brooklyn community,” says spokesman Valerio Ferrari
number of bumper cars operated by the Al Hokair group at its parks in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East
Pester Power –A supermarket television commercial has been banned in the UK after complaints it encouraged children to pester their parents to win a holiday to Disneyland Paris
5,020
number of stars, bombettes, aerial shells and Roman candles due to be let off at Tivoli’s post-Christmas firework festival in Copenhagen
Produced in association with AECOM Economics.
www.aecom.com/economics
DECEMBER 2011/JANUARY 2012
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24 26 28 50
32 20 3841
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