Taking the theme park model to a new level of achievement

I am, at the outset, no expert on theme parks or attractions, but have studied and reflected enough on business strategies and models to be able to make, I hope an educated guess on what works and what doesn't.

In the same context one of the things to consider is that theme parks have either a universal appeal or are very segmented and targeted, and this is a function of the demographic and business model that is to be built.

One of the important questions to consider in any theme park development is that theme park visits by the customers are usually a pre-choice and not always an impulse decision. While this rule may be bent by the demographic patterns of certain ethnic characteristics there is an element of enormous truth in the pre-choice element for theme parks.

This is vital in understanding the business model that is then required to build theme parks. Generally attractions and leisure entertainment developments are less of a challenge compared to theme parks and can have a quicker presence in the mind of the visitor in his choice decisions. In addition, attractions need lesser footfall of visitors than theme parks to be able to achieve a critical mass to make them work.

However, without fail, a good theme park has to have an amazing 'WOW' factor to first establish itself on the landscape of the entertainment experience.

Keeping in mind that theme parks and attractions are enormously expensive to build, they have less flexibility in redefining their business case should things go wrong, allowing only for tweaking the delivered experience but not changing its essential nature.

Task ahead

Dubailand has embarked on a challenging path to set up many attractions and theme parks, and this is on the back of an expected visitor base of 15 million in the year 2010. The task ahead is interesting, but also requires careful reflection on a number of elements.

The business of building theme parks and attractions is difficult in any market place, and in Dubai the main challenge will be achieving a critical mass of tourists year in and year out.

Some of the world's most successful theme parks stand side by side with the some of the worst disasters in the same business. Attractions in contrast can achieve a longer life cycle and, if targeted into a niche market, can create win-win situations that drive value to the visitor. These are the attractions which visitors put on their 'must-see' list, and the objective of a theme park or a leisure attraction builder has to be to engage in the process of creating the experience of a quality and standard that works.

Just as theme attractions like the Spider Man ride in the Islands of Adventure in Florida rank as the current world's best, not far from it in another theme park is a ride which has outlived its utility and nothing could be worse when going through the ride than the fact that you ever so often see 'exit' signs peeping of out the scenery, almost as if the operator apologetically is asking the visitors to leave him alone.

One in three theme parks struggle to survive into their third or fourth year of operations, and the difference between the survivors and the failures is not simply a question of luck. It has to be a difference of fundamental approach, clarity of concept, and the delivery style and footage that create the experience-appeal that will endure; and endure it must, to the point of referrals from those who have experienced the theme park or attraction.

Clearly, given that visitors, especially from Europe, will have predetermined one or a maximum two experience destinations before they arrive in Dubai, the creation of a theme park or attraction has to be considered on the lines of the best of breed standards.

Key factor

While the synergistic elements of Dubailand cannot be ignored, it also stands out that the fundamental success will depend on a footfall ratio of visitors that is steady and large. Indeed, the entertainment starved markets of India, Pakistan, China and Iran are at the doorsteps for Dubailand and its many theme parks and attractions, and there has to be due consideration for a long term strategy to capture the true potential of these markets.

This is a vital element for the theme parks.

There has to be careful consideration that recreating Disneyworld is not the answer, but it has to go beyond that experience and extend a core of experiences into a success model that reinforces the positioning that is expected; that is the best way forward.

Inducements to theme park developers and attraction builders have to be considered, as at the end of the day, their capital is at risk in a marketplace where current footfalls could perhaps support a few attractions and theme parks, but sustaining them in the long run is a leap of faith.

In fairness, the promise of growth has been met by Dubai, and there is little to question its continued robustness.

The developmental model that is unfolding is not an accident, and hence cannot be considered a bubble but more a result of a fusion of the private business community with the government's emphasis on creating the atmosphere for growth.

The challenge for Dubailand will, of course, be taking that model to a new level of achievement, and this is a process that is testing in the best of circumstances. But with each step that is taken forward by the developers in Dubailand, the element of confidence is taken that much further along that journey.

Anwer Sher is the UAE-based president of Sher Consulting