07 May 2019
Nearby attractions help waterparks thrive, says consultant David Camp
BY Andy Knaggs
Combining waterpark ventures with additional attractions, activities and accommodation is the best way to assure their financial success, according to David Camp of D&J International Consulting.
Writing in Attractions Management's Issue 1 of 2019, Camp drew upon a project his company had worked on with Europa Park, which is investing around €150m (US$170m, £128m) in creating the Rulantica waterpark and hotel accommodation in Germany, set to open later this year.
While helping to plan this expansion, Camp said that D&J International Consulting examined a number of theme park and waterpark destinations around the world.
"We discovered that waterparks built near to theme parks are typically able to achieve attendance levels of between 10-20 per cent of the associated theme park visitor numbers, and often the admission prices for the waterpark are not far below those of the theme park," he said.
"This is a significant additional volume of visitors and revenues that can make a major contribution to the finances of a resort."
Camp cited several examples of where this business model is operating successfully: the majority of Six Flags' waterparks are located alongside theme park operations, for example. It need not be a theme park either: Center Parcs and Lalandia in Europe, and Great Wolf and Kalahari in North America, have all created large scale resort operations with significant accommodation alongside a year-round indoor waterpark.
He concluded that, with exciting new rides and attractions being developed every year, family water play still stands up to the increasingly digital and virtual world with a "refreshingly enduring appeal".
To read the full article see Issue 1 2019 of Attractions Management here
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