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Park People
Q Lines
DARRELL
Starting his career in the USA, of our members are suppliers and what do they want? Buyers. Where
for the last two decades, are there buyers that we have not been attracting? Museums,
Darrell Metzger has served a aquariums and casinos, they are all great buyers of our members’
number of leadership roles in products. But at the same time, we have very good relationships with
the leisure industry in Asia and organisations like the AZA (American Association of Zoos and
the Middle East. He has been Aquariums) and we don’t want to steal their members away.
responsible building the
growth of attractions including How important is that IAAPA is seen as more than just a trade
Tokyo Disneyland, Ocean Park in Hong Kong, Sentosa in show organiser?
Singapore and overseeing Ruwaad Holdings’ interests in We have to provide good value to the members and if two-thirds of the
Dubailand and stewarding the same company’s entry into membership are the manufacturers and suppliers, why are they
South Africa. At the time of writing, Darrell was about to members? They are members because they want to be in the shows
take up a new role as senior vice-president with the and with the facility owners and investors, that’s where their business is.
Venetian Macau group, where he is expected to expand the So for us to provide services to two-thirds of our membership that
the entertainment offering at its casinos and resorts. Later means trade shows. For the other third, the facilities, this is where they
this month he will become the new chairman of the board get their suppliers, consultants, designers and so on; so trade shows are
at the International Association of Amusement Parks and very important.
Attractions. Ahead of the IAAPA Attractions Expo in The other things we look at is programmes that parks and attractions
Orlando, Darrell reveals his plans for the association, and can use, it might be education and training, these facilities cannot
his views about the industry in general always afford to send staff somewhere, but it we can do something for
a very reasonable cost where they can send four or five staff for just a
How has your career prepared you as IAAPA chairman? few days then that is a service.
I’ve had a long time to study, about 35 years now. We have had some
chairmen who have served a whole career with one organisation, Are there now too many trade shows around the world?
well I’ve gone in the opposite direction and literally moved Particularly in Europe, it is an issue, but it will sort itself out. Asia
around the world from company to company, each time I is a good example, it had a couple of shows. IAAPA was a
think for the better. I’ve worked for small parks; I’ve partner with one of those shows, and eventually bought it out,
managed multi billion dollar companies and destination now it’s an IAAPA show. That took 10 years to sort itself out,
resorts, so I hope it’s prepared me pretty well. to establish which worked best, which one suppliers were
comfortable with, which one attracted the right buyers and
What do you hope to achieve at IAAPA, and is one investors. You can depend on IAAPA to produce the show, it
year long enough to do it? will be good quality. I mean from our standpoint, we would
A year’s not a long time. It can be very difficult for the wish there were only one show, but it’s not going to
management when you have a chairman come in for a happen!
year and then go back to their full time job, but the way this
organisation is set up there is a five-year strategic plan. The job of the Do you envisage IAAPA establishing a presence in the Middle
chairman is to keep the board and the management focused on that East or any other new markets?
strategic plan. Yeah, I think that’s why we need to get started and focused on it right
We have an excellent education programme, and we are working on now. At the moment there are I think two or three quite small leisure
accreditation of those programmes. We are looking into collecting more shows in the Middle East. What is happening now is what happened in
industry data, which doesn’t really exist globally, so we have resources Asia, there were two or three of them that popped up, and eventually it
to draw on, particularly when it comes to public relations and crisis came down to one. I think in the Middle East we have to get ahead of
management; this information will be very useful for member facilities the curve. One of the things I will do is form a special task force just
to draw on. Another thing that’s very important is government relations, with that purpose in mind, to look out in the Middle East and see what
wherever disruptive legislation is passed, primarily at the moment we should do there. Should we be involved in a trade show, should we
focused in the US because that’s where the industry is most have a representative there? How do we farm that market so that we
sophisticated and where other countries look for best practice. are anticipating and not reacting to the business?
Each chairman will also have his own priorities or projects that are In Asia we are forming what we call an advisory committee that will
relevant to the time and are pushed. One of the areas I will focus on be ongoing, like you have in Europe. In Asia we think it has evolved but
will be expanding our constituencies, because there are areas that are not to where it needs to be permanently. I don’t know if it will ever get
relatively untapped. If you look at the Middle East there is billions of like it is in the US, but the Asian Attractions Expo is becoming a very
dollars of business that has been …promised, we are all waiting to find significant show. And then we have Australia, which is a very solid
out where it is perhaps, but we really need to focus on that. Asia is leisure market and we already have a very solid relationship with
ready for a boom again: Korea, China, and of course if you look at AALARA (Australian Amusement Leisure and Recreation Association).
Macau, the resort side of it, the Venetian Group alone is spending $20 In between the developing and the mature is Lain America. That has
billion. There is a lot of business for our members right now. Two-thirds come along nicely and has some very well done and profitable parks,
42 NOVEMBER 2008
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