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look up to. Disney will also bring some healthy competition. We have already seen OCT going into Shanghai with an increased cultural offering at Happy Valley. It’s very encouraging that the newer Chinese operators are developing their own niches.
Do you ever anticipate Asian park operators expanding into, for example, North America or Europe? Certainly in China I think there is so much potential in their own country I can’t see them targeting other countries for some years. Maybe once they have developed a successful attraction ‘DNA’ they might want to export that worldwide, but it’s really up to each operator to decide what is right for them.
At what stage do you expect Chinese ride manufacturers to start selling their products overseas, and what obstacles must they first overcome? At this juncture, the majority of small to medium-sized companies are still selling only within China, largely due to language and production capacity. However there is already a percentage of Chinese manufacturers that sell to most markets of the world, and you will see them at the IAAPA trade shows in Europe and the USA. They are learning fast.
What is important is that these manufacturers ensure their products are safe and adhere to international standards. IAAPA started its Intellectual Property programme this June at Asian Attractions Expo in Hong Kong, and this will be continued at the Expos in Europe and Orlando. The programme encourages each manufacturer to respect each other’s products.
Will the growth of Asia Pacific market mean the day will come when IAAPA needs more than one trade show to serve the region?
At the moment, I think Asian Attractions Expo serves our membership in the region very well. So long as we deliver the right content, in terms of education, quality of exhibits and level of buyers, I think one platform is enough; we would dilute our efforts otherwise. You can only attend so many trade shows in a year!
The next Asian Attractions Expo takes place at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands resort from June 4 to 7, 2013. For more details of IAAPA’s efforts in Asia Pacific visit
iaapa.org/connect/asia-pacific
Marina Bay Sands in Singapore: host venue for Asian Attractions Expo 2013
Tony Lines AALARA
Tony Lines has acted as president of the Australian Amusement, Leisure and Recreation Association (AALARA) since spring 2011 and served on the board since 1998. In his ‘day job’ as human resources manager for Village Roadshow Theme Parks he works with leading Gold
Coast attractions including Warner Bros Movie World, Wet ’n’ Wild Water World, Australian Outback Spectacular, Paradise Country and Warner Roadshow Movie World Studios. In his 19-year career with Village Roadshow, he has also served on the Tourism Training Queensland Executive and several IAAPA committees. Continuing our interviews with association leaders from around the globe, Tony gives Park World readers an insight into the varied attractions that make up AALARA’s membership, and some of the issues affecting those members right now.
What sorts of attractions does AALARA represent? AALARA continues to go from strength to strength. In 2011, the association doubled its membership; primarily through new start-up businesses across the transportable amusement, indoor play, laser tag, maze, go karting and small tourist attraction sectors. The association has always represented the major theme parks, waterparks, aquariums, zoos, indoor play and family entertainment centres, transportable ride operators, zoos and museums. Our membership is quiet diverse and the association work closely with each sector on safety, best practices, marketing and promotion. AALARA is a conduit of information to members on human resources,industrial relations, legislative changes and actively lobbies all level of government so that the Australian attractions industry’s voice is heard.
How widely spread out are the various attractions around the country? With the growth in population of Australia there are major attractions across each capital city. The Gold Coast (in Queensland) is probably still the biggest concentration of major theme parks. We are also seeing growth in investment within regional areas due to the booming mining industry, particularly across Queensland and Western Australia. The Village Roadshow group is about to start work in Wet‘n’Wild in Sydney. AALARA’s members employ over 80,000 staff across Australia. We are an important industry in terms of tourism and employment both in major capital cities and the regional areas.
How is the economy affecting your members right now? Australia’s economy is sitting better than other developed country thanks to mining, however I think everyone is finding it a little bit tougher than before the global financial crisis. We are optimistic the worst is behind us. The strength of the Aussie dollar is having a two-way impact on our industry. It acts as a good incentive for Australians to go and visit overseas, because it is cheap to travel, but then it’s expensive for overseas tourists to come to us. The positive that the strong dollar is having on the industry is that Australian operators can buy rides from overseas, because obviously then you get a good exchange rate.
NOVEMBER 2012 45
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