ATTRACTIONS MANAGEMENT
EDITOR’S LETTER FINDING NEW MODELS
ON THE COVER: Doctor Who Experience, p36
READER SERVICES
SUBSCRIPTIONS Denise Gildea +44 (0)1462 471930
CIRCULATION MANAGER Michael Emmerson +44 (0)1462 471932
EDITORIAL TEAM MANAGING EDITOR Kathleen Whyman +44 (0)1462 471918
EDITOR Liz Terry +44 (0)1462 431385
NEWSDESK Tom Walker +44 (0)1462 471917
Pete Hayman +44 (0)1462 471931 Martin Nash +44 (0)1462 471933
ADVERTISING TEAM
PUBLISHER Julie Badrick +44 (0)1462 471919
ADVERTISING SALES John Challinor +44 (0)1582 607970 Jan Williams +44 (0)1462 471909
ATTRACTIONS RECRUITMENT Annie Lovell +44 (0)1462 471901
ADVERTISING PRODUCTION Ed Gallagher +44 (0)1462 431385
WEB TEAM
INTERNET Michael Paramore +44 (0)1462 471926 Dean Fox +44 (0)1462 471900 Tim Nash +44 (0)1462 471917 Emma Harris +44 (0)1462 471921
FUN-KIT.NET/MUSEUM-KIT.NET PRODUCT SEARCH ENGINE Martin Nash +44 (0)1462 471933
DESIGN Andy Bundy +44 (0)1462 471924
FINANCE Sue Davis +44 (0)1395 519318
Denise Gildea +44 (0)1462 471930 Rebekah Scott +44 (0)1462 471930
The Leisure Media Company Ltd, Portmill House, Portmill Lane, Hitchin, Hertfordshire SG5 1DJ UK Tel: +44 (0)1462 431385 Fax: +44 (0)1462 433909 e-mail:
attractions@leisuremedia.com www.attractionsmanagement.com © Cybertrek 2011
AM 2 2011 ©cybertrek 2011 T
he global recession has driven operators to look further afi eld for growth, prompting them to be more creative in identifying development and partnership
opportunities. The recession has also inspired operators to be more outward-looking in their approach and we’re seeing an acceleration in the number of projects that involve inter- national collaboration. From theme parks and museums to science centres and
art galleries – operators are attacking opportunities with gusto and it’s a process that’s gathering momentum. There have always been global attractions brands, but it’s been a select group, involv- ing operators of the scale of Disney and Universal. Now the opportunity to grow’s being taken up by national- and regional-scale attractions which couldn’t have considered it a few years ago, but which have the profi le to make the transition to the world stage. Some months ago, Tim Smit told Attractions Management he was in talks for the
development of sites overseas and now it looks likely an Eden Project will open in China. It’s conceivable that this compelling attraction could transfer to most cultures and, with minimal adjustment and with the right funding, become a global operation.
“The industry is entering a new phase where operators can play with scale, location and the business model to extend their reach”
If the recession has prompted operators to broaden their horizons in terms of fi nding business opportunities, it’s also inspired the creation of new business models when it comes to the development of the facilities. We’re seeing an increasingly diverse range of new facility types, from temporary and
relocatable, to shared, refurbished and repurposed – there’s no longer a ‘one size fi ts all approach’, it’s more a question of getting creative and fi nding a solution which is appropriate to the situation and the nature of the operation. And with the real estate costs being so pivotal to the success of any attraction, solu- tions which keep these to a minimum are far more likely to succeed. Compare the timescale and costs involved with building a theme park on a green-
fi eld site to those of taking over an existing business with the infrastructure already in place. In Florida, Merlin Entertainments is turning the old Cypress Gardens into a Legoland – a great deal of the infrastructure is in place and the economics of buying the failed business and speeding up the development process, make the project viable in a way that would not have been possible with a new-build. So the industry is entering a new phase where operators can play with scale, loca- tion and the business model to extend their reach. If the essence of a brand can be captured and a compelling experience built around it and scaled for the business opportunity which exists, then the opportunities are enormous.
Liz Terry, editor,
attractions@leisuremedia.com THE LEISURE MEDIA COMPANY PUBLISHES
ATTRACTIONS MANAGEMENT IS THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF
SUPPORTED BY
Read Attractions Management online
attractionsmanagement.com/digital
5
PHOTO: LIAM DANIELS
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78