Amusement Park and Water Park Market

The number of amusement and water parks present globally has been on the rise in recent years, driven by improved consumer spending capacity in APAC region as well as the launch of specific theme parks focused on the entertainment sector. The Global Amusement and Water Park Market has been tracked by IndustryARC since 2015 till date 2019 based on various parameters includes revenue generation by various channels including Park Entry Tickets, Premium/Skip the Line Ticketing, Corporate Events, Ride Ticketing, Food and Beverage, Merchandise/Retail, Hotel Facilities, Souvenirs/Photography Features, Parking Facilities, Amenities and Information/Map Desks and Others.

One of the most important factor impacting the Amusement and Water Park market is the revenue generated from the admission fees which is paid by the customers upon entry. There are varying models present in the Amusement park sector for Admission fees. Some parks do not charge admission fee and instead have a per ride ticket that needs to be paid. Other Amusement parks instead only charge an amusement park entry fee but not a ride fee with all rides being free. The most common however is an admission fee being charged with certain rides only being chargeable upon entry. 

U.S is one of the key leader in the global Amusement and Water Park market due to the significant presence of Entertainment Company Theme Parks in the region, facilitated by being a major early proponent of such events followed by the growing support from the presence of Hollywood Movie Studios. Many U.S Companies are expanding their amusement and water park presence globally focusing on Asia and Middle East regions in particular.

There are a number of factors that affect the revenue generation of water park operations companies. One of the major factors affecting the amusement park revenue generation is the food and beverage revenues. The high margin on these products combined with the customer demand for them will lead to extensive revenue generation from this sector. The presence of Hotel Facilities is another major factor driving up the market. However a lack of customer demand for the hotel facilities can quickly lead to significant losses and thus hotel facilities are present in parks where footfall is significant.

The major player in the amusement park market globally is Disney. The Disney blueprint is a highly themed environment with interaction with its vast universe of media properties, including Pixar, Star Wars, and Marvel.  Rides and attractions are family-oriented, rather than thrill-based, and dark rides are the norm.  Focusing on its attraction mix does not do the park justice, because as much investment and deliberation is invested in its landscaping and environmental theming as in the attraction hardware.  The gold standard in theme parks along all metrics, from profitability, recognition, sustainability, and design. Characteristic of Disney parks is their ability to earn revenues from ancillary segments such as merchandise and food and beverage – which are often on par with, and sometimes greater than, revenues from ticket sales. This revenue generation from merchandizing does not exist for most parks and is a significant revenue boost for Disney as well as for Legoland and Universal Studios, other parks where merchandizing plays a major role.