Amusement Parks
Executive Summary
Amusements parks are popular venues for entertainment since the period in which they were established in the end years of the 18th century. Amusements parks are also referred to pleasure gardens. They were situated in medieval Europe in the 16th century and were incorporated with live picnics, rides, games, fireworks, entertainment, and dancing. The parks were founded by Tilyou C. George an entrepreneur master and the first amusement park was opened in 1583 by the name Bakken. The amusements parks become popular until 1700 when the political circumstances forced they close up and were reestablished in the 18th century. In 1919 over one thousand five hundred amusements parks had been opened in America. And the first theme park was created in 1950 which is the Disney land. The amusements parks have evolved gradually since the establishment and they operate as theme parks. The parks currently cater for a wider audience range with diversified age brackets. The industry of amusements parks is in a development globally as the visitors numbers are growing every year.
Why Do Companies Spend Billions On Amusement Parks?
Companies spend more on amusements parks in building parks themes. The activity is purposed for attracting more individuals seeking for leisure activities. To attract more customers the parks requires being fully equipped with entertainment facilities and activities to make them more popular. Eliminating themes from the amusements parks means that the parks are associated with nothing special that can motivate individuals to visit. The marketing strategies that the companies utilize are also expensive as they require to be well designed and to incorporate all ages (Gephart, & Marsick, 2016).
Immersion is another theme strategy that utilizes much money from the companies. The customers have to feel engaged to activities and setting up amenities at times it only requires a simple addition to make the customers happy and earn their loyalty. Based on the recent developments and trends companies are utilizing improvements such as the introduction of Wi-Fi for a small charge or for free. The companies additionally work to ensure that the parks provide high-quality services with high value thus making them favorable and affordable at each given opportunity (Gephart, & Marsick, 2016).
Why did the amusement park in France almost go bankrupt and why is the amusement park in America very successful.
The amusement park in France became bankrupt because o the utilization of an inappropriate operation strategy. First, the location was not favorable as the park was facing stiff competition room Paris hotels which were offering more favorable and affordable services (Gephart, & Marsick, 2016). The location denied the success of the park because the travel time to the city of Paris was only 35 minutes and the France park cost was as much as that of the Paris hotels thus making them more favorable and popular. In regard to the tourist sector, the proximity of Paris designed competition for the park as people opted for more traditional sites offered by Paris as well as the romantic Paris sites. Moreover, the parks failed in incorporating the cultural differences as the attention they utilized was wrong. They failed to differentiate their meals for the clients as most individuals would prefer a hamburger to sophisticated meals. The attitude was also wrong as the management utilized the assumption that most customers would be visiting the park like in America yet the park in America was well established (Gephart, & Marsick, 2016).
The marketing strategy also contributed to its failure because despite being characterized by a range of cultures and language the advertising campaign that was utilized was fully American. The advertisements were mainly aimed at the children thus leaving the adults with the option of whether to visit the park or not. More marketing efforts were required in France than in America since the park was not well established and therefore more convincing was necessary (Gephart, & Marsick, 2016). The park was characterized by much confidence which was reflected in their prices which were influenced by the high expectation of demand. The management failed in incorporating the cultural differences in Europe which failed to accomplish cultural integration which was necessary for the general growth of the park. There were several reasons for its failure which was mainly marketing and poor decisions by the administration the concept of trying to sell the American products to European was wrong (Emanuelson, 2013).
Disney Park in America was more successful because it utilized proper marketing skills, experienced management, and proper plan of operation as well as the incorporation of cultural differences. The American park utilized good marketing campaigns as all the age brackets wee involved to ensure that full awareness and convincing was achieved. Additionally, the services comprised of all the cultures which led to cultural integration thus achieving development. The prices were also favorable to ensure that demand was increased. The project planning was well conducted as the management left to space for errors which created a god impression t the consumers (Emanuelson, 2013).
There are more than 215 million visitors to the amusements parks every year. In 2015 Disney theme park had more than 20 million visitors which is an increase of about 6% from 2014 according to the statistics that were released in June 2015 (Gephart, & Marsick, 2016). The attendance of the amusements parks in a development around the world. According to themed entertainment association Disney has dominated the list of the most visited parks in the world over years. The Disney parks that are situated in Europe America and Asia are the top 10 most visited parks every year. There are over a hundred and thirty-five million visits to all the tip North American amusements parks in 2015 which is 2% more as compared to the visits in 2014. The same report holds that there were more than one hundred and seventeen million visits to the top twenty amusements parts in Asia which is 7% increase from the last financial year (Gephart, & Marsick, 2016).
Survey Analysis
Based on a survey conducted on the amusement parks most individuals prefer to visit the amusements parks for leisure during their free time. In comparison to sporting activities, swimming, and animal caring amusements parks are more preferred as it held 64.29% while swimming and animal caring held 7.14% and sporting activities held 21.43%. 100% of people are interested in visiting amusements parks and their motivation is mainly the fact that the parks offer perfect family outing, followed by attractions, and adventure. Individuals are not, therefore, willing to travel for more than one hour to the amusements parks and they are willing to spend less than 20 dollars on each visit. 92.86% of the individuals expect to meet a variety of entertainment activities in order to be satisfied. 46.43% visit the parks once a year because of their schedules and those that visit twice a year are 28.575. 96.43% have not experienced any accident at the park and therefore, they believe that the parks are secure enough. The majority of those who visit the parks are between the ages of twenty-six and 35 years holding 82.14%.
The Problems Faced By Amusement Parks
Amusements parks are faced with several issues which include, overcrowding, inadequate and insecure parking, small ranges of entertainment activities, access issues, lack f seasoned team of management and technological adoption issues (Hirsch, 2011). This issue, therefore, hinders the development of the parks as customers find the places undesirable. This, therefore, results in reduced revenue as individuals substitute other activities in utilizing their leisure time (Hirsch, 2011).
Solutions to the Amusement Parks Issues
In order to reduce the issue of overcrowding the parks is necessitated to utilize design faculties that are aimed to curb overcrowding. This is by ensuring that there are secure and ample parking facilities to accommodate the increasing demand. Additionally, the parks should be designed in a way that enhances easy access with an appropriate management in distinct seasons (Cascio, & Boudreau, 2012). Indoor activities should additionally be designed to last throughout the year to ensure that demands do not fall during some seasons. Technological advancement should be incorporated in wide ranges of activities for entertainment. This is to ensure that the consumers are fully satisfied based on their expectation which will result in market growth (Cascio, & Boudreau, 2012).
What Percentage Of Young Adults Attends The Park?
The percentage of young adults who visits the parks is represented by 82.14% and additional of 10.71% who are young teenagers who visit the park thus totaling to 92.84%.
Finding Out How They Maintain Security in the Amusement Park
Amusements parks ensure the security by utilization of CCTV surveillance system. For every amusement park, the top focus is creating secure surrounding in order to make the visitors comfortable and enjoy their stay. The high surveillance cameras are utilized in monitoring entrances, rides, car parks. Additionally, parks utilize security guards who survey around the park to observe any irregular activities taking place. This, therefore, helps in avoiding conflicts and ensuring that individuals are not involved accidents. In ensuring that the parks are also secure the amusements parks utilizes facilities that are out of harm to ensure that even the children are not prone to danger. This involves utilizing floors that are soft and materials that cannot harm them.
The Total Estimated Amounts Companies Earn Yearly As Profits
Companies earn more than 2.2 million dollars profits from amusements parks. Based on reports from last year every 11 parks generates a third of the total 45 billion dollars revenue and 20 % is from the 10 billion dollars which are the operating profit. Profit generation has increased over the years due to the development f the parks which are main them more favorable and popular.
References
Cascio, W. F., & Boudreau, J. W. (2012). Short introduction to strategic human resource management.
Emanuelson, D. (2013). Leisure services financial management. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Gephart, M. A., & Marsick, V. J. (2016). Strategic organizational learning: Using system dynamics for innovation and sustained performance.
Hirsch, R. A. (2011). Western New York amusement parks. Charleston, S.C: Arcadia Pub.
Survey Monkey. Research on Amusement Parks. Survey Results. Retrieved From https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-S86FVW9T/