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to be carefully considered. We managed to open the park to the public after the first lockdown had been lifted in July 2020, and from then on – like all hospitality and leisure businesses – we continued to navigate the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 as best we could. Of course, it’s not been easy. Managing four theme parks through a period when travel was restricted and visitor numbers had to be capped came with obvious difficulties, but I’m pleased to say we’ve bounced back. There will always be challenges and I think COVID-19 taught us that you just have to find different ways of dealing with things. The problem of labour shortages across the industry is an example. We’ve already been running management programmes for eight years now, and we have a core team which has been with us for a long time, but we’re now working extra hard on apprenticeships, training, and development.
CW: A 45th anniversary is an exciting milestone. What’s next for Gulliver’s and how do you plan to keep up with current trends? JD: We’ve got lots of exciting plans underway for this year to mark our 45th anniversary, from new rides and attractions to new accommodation options across our parks, as well as new and continuing partnerships with brands we know our customers will love. The Gulliver’s Gears area has just opened in our Warrington park. We’re always looking for the next opportunity to enhance what we offer at our parks, and we’ll be revealing more new initiatives in the coming months! I also think it’s worth acknowledging that many current trends are focused around VR and AR. Gulliver’s is all about encouraging children to play in a safe, happy, physical world that helps them to develop crucial team-building and interpersonal skills – something that many children today can actually be lacking because they spend so much of their time playing in virtual worlds.
CW: It’s becoming increasingly important for parks to demonstrate a commitment to sustainable tourism. What measures does Gulliver’s have in place? JD: Sustainability is vitally important to our business and we have a number of initiatives in place to ensure this across our parks. At the moment, our focus is on trying to remove plastics from our locations – something that we were already making real headway with until COVID-19 came along, requiring more single-use and disposable items to be utilised.
Alongside this, we also operate solar panels on the roofs of a number of our buildings, as well as running solar thermal heating systems within our resorts. Additionally, we’re proud to have been harvesting and reusing rainwater across our locations for more than 20 years. Gulliver’s also plays a part in helping the environment in each of the locations we operate. This includes using compost produced on-site to fertilise our plants and crops, and putting in place initiatives such as hedgehog homes, bat boxes, lakes and ponds, to encourage the local wildlife to share our space.
Julie's parents and Gulliver's founders, Hilary and Ray Philips
Gulliver's Kingdom Matlock Bath when it first opened
Gulliver's Kingdom – Gulliver arriving
Gulliver's Gears MARCH 2023
Togo Tower at Gulliver's World 25
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