IAAPI is encouraging its members to develop and grow by forming joint ven- tures or partnerships with established players in the international market
NIRMALSINH RANA, PRESIDENT OF IAAPI A
lthough India doesn’t get a huge number of foreign tourists, domes- tic tourism has grown 14 per cent
on average during the last decade. Of this, amusement park industry currently generates only 18-20 million visits a year. International tourists come to India mainly for sightseeing and they rarely visit amuse- ment parks. Even domestic tourists in India are mainly attracted to sightseeing places, such as temples and churches. At present, it’s mainly the real estate
players that are setting up small- and medium-size amusement parks to make the area popular, so as to increase the land price after infrastructure developments. The organised sectors and large inves- tors haven’t come into the fray except in a few cases – this may be due to ignorance and lack of knowledge about this indus- try, which is still in its infancy in India. The amusement industry is both capital- and
labour-intensive and, so far, with the excep- tion of a few medium- to large-size parks in India, success stories aren’t well known, as most existing companies are private. Land availability and land costs are prohibitive. The other predicament for operators and
investors is amusement tax in India, which is fairly high. To set up an amusement park, various permissions from different statu- tory authorities and government bodies are required, which can be complicated. We hope it will soon be a single window clearance for setting up a new amusement park. IAAPI is working with government bodies and statutory authorities to bring in improvement in all these fields. It’s obvious that large international play-
ers are hesitant about coming to India as land cost is high and per capita spend in
this industry is only around $10 (£6.50, E7.65). However, over the last five to six years that per capita spend in this industry
YOGESH DANGE, 2ND VICE PRESIDENT IAAPI T
he Indian amusement industry has matured over the years and with the per capita income increasing sev-
eral fold in the last decade, I think we can expect many more operators, including Disney and Universal, to invest in India. The government has been encouraging
tourism in a big way and is also recognis- ing the ability of the amusement and theme park industry to generate improved tour- ism and employment opportunities. With approximately 140 parks and attrac- tions in India at present, and many FECs, we expect the next phase of expansion to come from the tier-two cities such as Pune and Jaipur because the cost of land in and around large cities has become very expensive. The government needs to
AM 2 2011 ©cybertrek 2011
create a land bank for large operators to invest in India, as the tourism infrastructure needs huge tracts of land for development. It’s estimated that by 2020, the average Indian will be 29-years-old. This entails the creation of a large workforce, so at present the amusement industry in India isn’t fac- ing any problem with regard to manpower, but the situation could change with the growth. It also creates opportunities in terms of subsequent spin offs for eco- nomic growth and prosperity. This, in turn, will aid the growth of the Indian amuse- ment parks industry in the future. However, there’s a need for the amuse- ment industry in India to build integrated entertainment destinations with facilities such as amusement attractions, hotels,
convention centres, exhibition centres and malls. Indian amusement parks need to look for joint ventures or partnerships with established players in the international market to explore this enormous opportunity. I don’t foresee any major barrier for overseas operators starting a venture in India. The Indian economy is growing at
between 8.5 per cent and nine per cent per annum. It’s only a matter of time before established players recognise the opportu- nity to invest in our attraction’s industry.
Y
ogesh Dange is 2nd vice president of IAAPI and director of GRS Fantasy Park
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is growing and we believe the large players will make investments in India within a few years. Due to the advantage of economy of scale in India, the operating costs would be lower. Plus, the government authorities and municipalities here are showing an inter- est in providing land for this industry, as it’s being perceived as a social need. We predict that some of the existing medium to large parks will work with large interna- tional players to upgrade their existing park to larger destination parks very soon. IAAPI is continuously campaigning with
government authorities and emphasising that this industry boosts tourism, gener- ates large employment and helps in the development of social infrastructure.
Nirmalsinh Rana, IAAPI president
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