PW NOV08 P06-07 v4.qxd:PW NOV08 P06-07 v4.qxd 3/11/08 09:31 Page 7
Park News
www.parkworld-online.com
Midway’ team
ParkBloggin’
by Liu Jinwang
Meanwhile Adrian Jones and Janine
DiGioacchino will retain their roles as
An industry on the
general manager for Merlin’s Midway
attractions in the USA West and East
brink of boiling point
respectively. Both areas are highlighted for
In 2006 Liu Jingwang, now chairman of the Chinese
expansion in 2009 with the opening of
Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions
Madame Tussauds in Hollywood and the
(CAAPA), voiced concerns about the “overheating” of the
Pepsi Globe observation wheel and
domestic industry. Two years on, he tells Park World the
Legoland Discovery Centre in Meadowlands
Steve Shears situation is about to reach boiling point
near New York.
A fifth new senior position has been created to support the growth
A lot of amusement parks are being built in the big cities in China,
that is taking place inside Merlin Entertainments. The divisional director
but also playgrounds are being replaced in second tier cities. The
for Midway development, when appointed, will oversee all new brands,
construction of new parks is concentrated in three clusters: The Pearl
new openings and emerging markets. Reporting to this role will be two
Delta, Yangtze Delta and Bohai area – and the competition in those
new Midway openings managers – one each for the USA and Europe.
areas is chaos!
All five senior positions will report direct to Merlin Entertainments’
At a lot of these parks, good research had been overlooked and
Midway managing director, Glenn Earlam.
so a lot of fixing work needs to be done. There’s also a lot of blind
In addition to this, brand consistency will be the responsibility of four
investment from people who are not experienced in the industry.
Midway marketing directors, who will work across all regions. They will
How many of the parks will survive the construction boom?
also ensure that the marketing benefits and economies of scale for the
Real estate tourism is also an issue: Developers putting money
individual brands are maximised both globally and in discreet
into parks but with the
geographic areas where joint activities are undertaken. The four
purpose of using the parks
marketing directors are Nicky Marsh (Madame Tussauds), Kate Edwards
to raise the value of the
(Dungeons), Scott Williamson (Sea Life) and Nicola Hamilton (Legoland
land. The focus is not on
Discovery Centres).
the profits of the parks and
some parks see hardly any
visitors! It’s a waste of
Mtatsminda Park
resources, but of course the
developers do not worry
because they have already
Plans are moving forward to
reaped the benefits. It’s
reopen Mtatsminda Park in
normal practice now in
Tbilisi, Georgia, which was
China.
famously seized by the
All these new parks need rides and attractions and so the
authorities last November
manufacturing industry is booming. There are a lot of opportunities
after just nine weeks of
for our own factories and also a lot of opportunities for international
opening. The Tbilisi City
manufacturers. Some foreign companies have set up joint ventures,
Government (TCG) has taken
and this a good alternative to setting up their own factories.
over the debt of Lynx Ltd, the
The market is huge, and it had made companies very hungry and
park’s former owner led by
thirsty. All manufacturers seem to be at full capacity; production
deceased oligarch Badri
cannot meet the demands of the market. Generally this is a positive
Patarkatsishvili, and a new operator has been appointed.
situation, but problems arise when people pay more attention to the
Rakeen, the real estate development arm of Ras Al Khaimah in the
market than to quality or service. Also the market cannot last forever
United Arab Emirates, first expressed an interest in running the park
at this rate so the manufacturers must prepare themselves for after
this summer but is now believed to be serious about taking over now
the peak period, to ensure their factories are sustainable. Those who
a number of financial matters have been resolved.
have not paid attention to quality will be the ones that loose out. It’s
IE Park is one of several suppliers that have finally been paid as a
like summer, and after the summer you have the fall… Companies
result of the settlement with TCG and the company’s Andrea Munari
must be strategic and look overseas to ensure their survival.
says that although no maintenance has been carried out until now,
I have been discussing this situation to my colleagues
the site remained guarded, and therefore it shouldn’t be too much
now for several years, but the difference now is
that we are close to explosion; the market is
trouble getting the rides operational again.
almost at its peak. CAAPA is now working
“The assistance offered by the Italian Embassy in particular has
with the government to make them
been most useful to us all,” says Munari. He also welcomes the
aware of this. We do not have long to
collaboration offered by TCG leader Gigi Ugulava and Tbilisi deputy-
solve the problem and find answers.
mayor and vice-mayor, Mamuka Akvedyani and Silkan Sisauri.
Also no doubt relieved by the outcome, which has taken almost a
With thanks to Ai Yongmei for
year to achieve, will be other suppliers including Interlink and Sartori
translation
– not to mention the people of Tbilisi, who hopefully with have a fun
park to play in again soon.
NOVEMBER 2008
7
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