waterparks
aterpark experience! he largest and only
The largest and only all-in-oneall-in-one
waterpark experience! One very important aspect when design- X
ing a tourism attraction is to adapt the experience to suit the region. I witnessed the opening of a park in Hong Kong which underestimated the power of the tour operators out of China. Open-dated tickets were sold to the tour market, which led to thousands of people being turned away when so many tour groups arrived and the park wasn’t big enough to fit them all in. The tour operators who control this market weren’t keen to promote this park again. To ensure they’re getting it right, opera-
X
tors should work with the local community and government. A consultant with experi- ence in the area can help with advice. I’ve worked for wealthy clients who want the biggest and the best, so I have to find out if they want to make money or compli- ment the existing businesses in the area. In some cases, attractions are built to provide family time for the locals and the inten- tion isn’t to glean big profits. This doesn’t happen very often though. My advice is to remember that there are many attractions around the world that aren’t making money, so do your homework before you proceed.
BENEFITS
The main benefit of building in these markets is that they have very large popula- tions – for example, China and India. If a waterpark is set up and operated correctly, it could receive very large daily guest numbers with the potential for secondary spend within the park. Construction and labour costs are also usually dramatically cheaper than western world start-up costs. One very important aspect is that if you
The Waterpark Company The Waterpark Company 4 273 1068 •
www.whitewaterwest.com +1 604 273 1068 •
www.whitewaterwest.com
employ westerners – or ex-pats – in your waterpark, they must have exceptional people skills and work with the locals well.
Waterpark operators need to ensure their offer will suit the mix of cultures plus a mix of locals, tourist and ex-pats
Some ex-pats are lacking in this area and can treat the locals as if they are a lower class, which is not the case at all. This has been known to happen in Hong Kong, but the situation is changing as the local Hong Kong Chinese take control again. It’s very important to employ local staff to create the full experience and also to assist with relating to the visitors. Initially staff will need to be trained up by experienced peo- ple who will hand over to them eventually.
THE FUTURE During the last decade there has been a huge demand for both local and interna- tional waterparks with very high standards and a variety of attractions, particularly for the family market. This demand contin- ues to accelerate. In the future there will be new markets such as Iran and Vietnam plus expansion in the existing regions. Operators will however become more cau- tious as they gain a better understanding of this business and will look for genuine products rather than being fobbed off with typical sales pitches. For anyone considering entering this
market, the key points to remember are location, back drop, future growth oppor- tunities and the mixture of cultures as well as the mix of locals, ex-pats and tourists. Finally, deliver world-class service incorpo- rating great local staff and training.
Stephen Galbraith, sales and marketing manager, Australian Waterslides and Leisure
AM 1 2012 ©cybertrek 2012
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