PW June 07 P3.qxd 5/21/07 10:52 am Page 3
Front Gate
www.parkworld-online.com
BigQuestion
Figures of
32
24
26
28
Is the buying power of large multi-park operators
50Fun
20
helpful to suppliers?
38
41
Mike Chance, Chance Morgan: It can be. It has both advantages
and disadvantages. It can cut down on our selling expenses, having
2
fewer customers to deal with and relationships to maintain. The
seconds - time to accelerate
disadvantage is that their increased buying power gives them a better
from 0-80 mph on Stealth at
negotiating position. More importantly, when a big corporation’s capital
budget gets cut, as it occasionally does, it has a more dramatic effect
Thorpe Park near London
on our business.
32.1
Len Soled, Rides-4-U: Yes. The market is shrinking somewhat so it’s
important we deal with the entire market, including large parks. At IAAPA,
million - visits by overseas
for example, we closed deals with several larger parks.
tourists to the UK in 2006
Christian Freiherr von Elverfeldt, Mack Rides:
68.5
It can be a good thing sometimes, because you are
only dealing with one department and there is a
million - visits abroad in by UK
chance that if it goes good other orders will follow in the residents in 2006
group. But often the decision makers do not have any technical
knowledge of the rides, and that creates problems. Is it cost effective? For
the park maybe, but it’s very hard to calculate a price that is still
2,268
economical to manufacture, very hard.
metres - length of the UK's
longest rollercoaster, the
Horst Ruhe, Maurer Söhne: It makes our business more difficult
Ultimate at Lightwater Valley
because too often major corporations change their management team.
This requires us to stabilise a new relationship.
229,623,812
Franz Maier, Gerstlauer: Yes, if they keep it fairly
total visits to the Eiffel Tower
level. That is, if they don’t one year spend $200
million and the following years spend nothing.
from 1889 to 2006
Gerstlauer has not personally had that proble, we need
to maintain balanced production. It also helps if the customer does not
delay his decision until too late in the year. Figures by Economics Research Associates
(ERA)/UK Office of National Statistics
www.econres.com
Ups &
Park Bashing - UK parks have been slated
for poor value by Holiday Which? magazine.
Downs
BALPPA defended the industry, but the negative
publicity still ensued
Universal UAE - Universal’s
decision to establish a Studios
Snap Happy - A crocodile at a
park in Dubai, United Arab
Chinese amusement park has been
Emirates (UAE), signals
shot to death after dragging a 9-year-
Dubailand developers means
old boy into a lake at the Yintan resort
business
and devouring him
Ghost Given Life - Ghost Town In Indian Invasion - In further proof of
The Sky, Maggie Valley, North the UAE’s tourist potential, India’s Polo
Carolina, has re-opened after five Amusement is to develop a 120-acre
years away, taking visitors back into the park in Ras Al Khaimah
Wild West
JUNE 2007 3
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