ATTRACTIONS MANAGEMENT
Darrell Metzger - Asia Chair, Destination Resorts & Hotels, Malaysia
“I
n the past 15 years the Asian attractions industry has gone through a tremendous learn- ing cycle, beginning with many failed theme parks and
attractions in the late 1980s – 1990s. Now the industry has re-emerged to develop successful resorts such as Sentosa, Disney, Universal and FECs, especially in Indonesia. It was very diffi cult to fi nd investors
or commercial fi nancing for projects after the early failures, but with the emergence of the major brands and their success, investors are much more aggressive in the Asian leisure mar- ket. Asia is the most promising growth market on a global basis. The major brands and large corpo-
rate entities, such as OCT in China and Genting in Singapore, have quickly raised the quality level to equal any in the industry, so customer expectations are beginning to match that of the mature markets of Europe and North
America. Universal recently opened its Transformers Ride in Singapore and will follow later with the ride in the US. So, consumers are not only expecting the best, they’re getting the best – sometimes before the rest of the world. Over the next 15 years in Asia you’ll
see the proliferation of regional parks, similar to what occurred years ago in North America and Europe. Most of the markets in these regions that can support these parks have been tapped into, but the Asia market has a seem- ingly endless supply of cities that can support regional attractions and FECs. You’ll also see the emergence of some large operators who will begin con- solidating attractions and create new brands and chains that you’ve probably never heard of – similar to Merlin, Six Flags and Parques Reunidos. I believe Asia will follow the same
cycles that have occurred in the more mature markets – we’re just a few dec- ades behind the curve.”
Metzger began his career at Disneyland in 1973
Investors are much more aggressive in the Asian leisure market. It’s the most promising growth market on a global basis
Michael Jolly CBE - UK Consultant
“L
ooking back over the last 15 years, I think the attrac- tions sector has seen real improvements in the quality of the experi-
ences offered. The considerable sums invested, led by private equity but by no means limited to the private sector, have enabled much greater empha- sis on visitor engagement, adding more theatre to content presenta- tion, improved storytelling and making places more interesting and accessible. Customers, meanwhile, have con- tinued to become savvier and their expectations continue to rise. Visitors have more reference points when assessing good value and are very quick to tell others where value is poor. In the UK, the attractions sector con-
tinues to be often misunderstood by politicians from all sides. For example, free admission to our major museums is a misguided way of trying to help widen their visitation levels across
AM 1 2012 ©cybertrek 2012 15 years ago Jolly was chair of The Tussauds Group
I suspect TripAdvisor will become ever more ruthless and that’s another management challenge
society. The level of tax on ticket prices continues to put the UK at a disadvan- tage, but I doubt things will change. The highlights of the last 15 years include the arrival of a major mod- ern art museum in London; the phenomenal global growth of Merlin Entertainments; the success of the National Trust on so many fronts; and seeing the roles played by The Eden Project and Alnwick Garden in using attractions to spearhead regional econ- omies. On the down side, I still think it a shame we don’t have a truly world class aquarium in the UK – we are, after all, surrounded by water. Looking ahead for the next 15 years, in-bound tourism should boom on the back of the many global sporting events being staged in the UK in the coming years. The Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee should kick start the process. This is a golden opportunity for the UK and we’ve got to make sure we manage it well. On a more daunt- ing front, for all visitor attractions, I suspect TripAdvisor will become ever more ruthless and that’s another man- agement challenge.” ●
Read Attractions Management online
attractionsmanagement.com/digital 27
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