Expert analysis and insights


The Experience Economist is a brand-new series of industry publications from Leisure Development Partners (LDP), the leading firm in visitor attractions economics and strategy.


Europa Park, Germany


This series explores the volume, value, and impact of the global theme park and visitor attractions industry, providing expert analysis and insights into the forces shaping the market. The Europe edition of The Experience Economist offers an in-depth exploration of Europe, uncovering key trends and emerging opportunities across the region. Europe boasts very mature markets in the west, and some up and coming markets towards the east.


Whilst in emerging markets the gaps seem more obvious across all sectors, viability is often challenging due to lower income levels. Scaling to the market opportunity becomes key to financial success. Maturity, on the other hand, indicates spending power and often highlights potential. The challenge for developers and investors is to seek out gaps and leverage the wealthy resident bases and


2 THE EXPERIENCE ECONOMIST: EUROPE EDITION 2025 | © LDP


strong tourist economies. LDP have been assisting in both for over 15 years.


Europe on path of recovery


Between 2010 and 2023, the top 20 theme parks across Europe grew by an average 1.3%, similar to North America and 2.5 times below Asia. Tourism volumes have recovered or are on the path to pre-Covid levels in most countries, although in some markets stay- cation has stepped in where international visitation struggled to bounce back.


We estimate that there are approximately 174 million theme park and waterpark visits each year, which translates to 325 visits per 1,000 residents. While the total visitation is nowhere near that in Asia, the high


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