The global water park market is performing a "Song of Ice and Fire"。On the one hand, the number of visitors to water parks in North America has generally declined，On the other hand, demand in the Asia-Pacific market, mainly China, continues to be strong。

The "Voice of Visitors: Theme Entertainment Industry Outlook Report" recently released by PGAV Destinations, a global themed entertainment design company, shows that，In 2017, water park visitor satisfaction and the probability of visitors recommending the water park to family and friends hit the highest level in three years，188bet app

The findings of the report are supported by the latest visitor volume report released by TEA/AECOM。Displayed in "2017 Global Attractions Attractions Report"，The number of visitors to the top 20 global water parks in 2017 increased by 1% year-on-year.6% to 30.16 million people，However, the number of visitors to the top 20 water parks in North America dropped year-on-year by 2.9% (a decrease of 500,000 passengers)。From the data，Among the top 15 water parks in North America，Except for the newly opened Universal Studios Volcano Bay，The number of visitors to other water parks all showed 1.Decrease ranging from 6% to 10%。

Report states，There are two main reasons for the decline in tourists in North America:First, there is a general lack of investment in water parks，No new attractions have been added to attract more tourists；The second is，Affected by hurricanes such as Harvey，Most water parks are closed for extended periods during peak seasons due to safety and maintenance reasons。

In comparison，Water parks in Asia Pacific are growing well，Especially the Chinese market。Chimelong Water World continues to lead the top 20 list of global water parks with 2.7 million visitors in 2017；“Dark Horse” Kaifeng Silver Base Water World with 46.1% growth rate entered the theme index list for the first time；Wuhu Fantawild Water Park also grew by 17.Performance of 6% to 1.2 million passengers continues to maintain rapid growth。

China’s water park market continues to be hot in 2018: Chimelong continues to introduce advanced foreign equipment，Happy Valley Maya Beach Water Park takes a differentiated path through chain brand layout，Indoor water park in Wanda Oriental Movie City、Dinglong Bay Texas Water World has opened，The water park in Chishui Dinosaur Park in Sichuan is under construction... The combination of water parks and other themed entertainment or attractions is becoming more and more diverse，Visitor engagement is at an all-time high。

But some industry insiders pointed out，Many water parks in China are trapped in homogeneous and vicious competition，Some operators invest the money they earn in other projects，Not for the maintenance and update of park equipment。At the same time，Water parks inevitably encounter many regional restrictive factors、Short operating hours、Unclear story line and other issues。Based on this， Jeff Havlik, Vice President of PGAV Destinations, with his global vision and practical project experience，Systematic analysis of solutions to existing problems in water parks。

Reducing financial risks through mergers and acquisitions

Viewed from around the world，The first development trend of the water park market is frequent mergers and acquisitions，Large-scale operators have acquired water parks with good momentum of development or great potential for development。

Spanish Reunion Park Group, the world’s largest water park operator, acquired Sydney’s second largest water park, Sydney, in July's Wet'n'Wild，Take the first step towards the company’s southern hemisphere expansion，In addition to more mergers and acquisitions in the future，Reunion Park also plans to develop more indoor entertainment centers in the existing park。

In North Jakarta，The Sea World Aquarium in Ancol Dreamland, Indonesia’s largest amusement park, recently reopened、Faunaland Zoo has opened、Dufan Ocean is under construction。In East Java，Jatim Park3 in Jatim Parks will be opened to the public soon，Increased the number of attractions in Batu, the city where the park is located, to 10。

This method of business expansion helps reduce risks.

First，If the geographical location and seasonal cycle of the amusement park distribution are different，Whether it is distributed in different areas、Country，Still mainland，This has the potential to help operators achieve year-round operations，Ensure the company has strong cash flow throughout the year，Reduce the possibility of bad weather in individual areas affecting the performance of the entire company。

Secondly，Diversified investment strategies can also help companies spread their business to different places，Reduce financial risk；The shortcomings or pressure on a single park can be compensated by the advantages of other parks in the company。

Finally,This method can also provide tourists with the opportunity to visit other parks。For example，If visitors like a certain operator’s water parks in Buenos Aires，So when visiting Milan，Visitors may also like other parks of this brand。

In addition to building a multinational water park chain brand，Many companies also develop other attractions to supplement existing entertainment centers，Extend visitors’ stay to weekends，This trend was also noted in the TEA/AECOM Thematic Index report。Decades，SeaWorld has been using this model，In existing Orlando、More Aquatica-branded water parks to be developed near theme and animal parks in San Antonio and San Diego，And develop more Discovery Cove and Discovery Point water rides in the center of the resort。

Also，Wanda Oriental Movie City Wanda Mao Water Park opened in May this year，The movie park with Wanda Maonei、Indoor suspended roller coaster、The world’s first indoor vertical drop rapids and other facilities complement each other，Provide more amusement attractions for tourists。"Tourist Voice Report" pointed out，The other three themed attractions that water park visitors are most likely to visit are zoos and animal attractions、Theme Park and Family Entertainment Center。Therefore，Many water park operators are also considering partnering with such local institutions or developing such attractions themselves。

Multiple measures to extend tourists’ stay

Whether it is a large destination，Still a single destination，Another strategy for running a successful water park is to extend the operating cycle or visitor stay。

Many water parks in the world develop large-scale indoor supporting facilities on existing sites。Indoor water parks have many advantages:First, indoor parks can be open year-round，Extended operating hours，No longer affected by seasons；The second is to avoid overheating that has a serious impact on the number of visitors to outdoor attractions、Supercooled、Rain, snow and other bad weather。

For example, the Wanda Qingdao Oriental Movie City Indoor Water Park mentioned above，Another example is Kaifeng Silver Base Water World, which was selected into the theme index list for the first time this year，Its number of tourists reached 1.3 million in 2017，46 year-on-year increase.1%，Visitor volume has increased significantly again after the recent launch of new indoor facilities。

In the colder northern Europe，The climate is not suitable for outdoor swimming，Most operators develop indoor water parks，This type of paradise is mainly in the form of leisure hot springs。For example, the German water park Therme Erding，1.32 million tourists in 2017，In addition, the number of tourists visiting the hot spring area reached 500,000 (hot spring tickets are separate from the water park)。

This mode is also suitable for areas with hot weather。Epic Water indoor park in Grand Prairie, Texas opens this spring，Surrounded by 7440 square meters of glass，The water park itself is located in an entertainment complex building。

Also，Chimelong Water Park adopts the strategy of extending operating hours，Through the stage light show and live concerts in the wave pool，Attract tourists to stay and play at night，The young "Generation Z" group is particularly interested in such activities。

Tell good stories and improve tourists’ comfort

Except extended operating hours，Enable guests to enjoy an immersive experience in pools and waterslides through storytelling，It is also an important way for water parks to attract tourists。Set interesting stories during the game，Amusement facilities that inspire visitors to learn more about and explore，Thus extending their stay in the water park。Like a good TV series that attracts people to watch it all weekend，A fun, immersive story that keeps guests spending the entire weekend at the water park。

For example，The Guizhou Chishui Dinosaur Park under construction is designed by PGAV Destinations，It will become a large-scale building after completion、A water park with rich themes，Visitors can play during the game，Experience the story of growing dinosaur eggs and living in harmony with dinosaurs in a lost world。The Rulantica water park in Eurapa-Park, Europe's second largest theme park, will open next year，Visitors will then embark on an adventure with the theme of Norse mythology 188bet sports betting app download in a deserted land，The promotional video that has been launched contains many mysterious and interesting stories。

Another popular trend is,Before arriving at the attraction of your choice，Let visitors pass through some other attractions，To arouse their curiosity。This method works，It has been tried and tested in the retail industry for a long time。For example，Stores usually put the milk that customers like to buy in the last row，And the customer must pass by many other items before seeing that item，and may purchase these items。Same，Visitors may only want to enjoy one or two attractions in the water park，But find ways to combine these attractions with other entertainment，Visitors’ curiosity may be aggravated，Thus attracting tourists to buy more goods，The purpose of staying longer。

For example，Atlantis Sanya opens in May this year and launches 15 new waterslides，But these slides actually contain 35 different experiences，Many of the more prominent experience elements appear in a single slide。Universal Studios Volcano Bay has 19 rides and attractions，When creating these playgrounds，The designer attaches great importance to the cross-attraction effect between attractions，Guide tourists to explore more attractions。What Sea World does is，The Animal Trek experience was recently added to Discovery Cove Theme Park，Let visitors interact with some animals in a fun way。

Same，Zhuhai Chimelong Kingdom and Ocean World Aquatica Water Park give full play to their advantages，Innovatively integrate the riding facilities in the park、Animal attractions and other thrilling items are cleverly combined。For example，Dolphin Plunge at Aquatica Water Park in Orlando，This ride goes through the Roa inside Aquatica Water Park in San Antonio's Aviary，Visitors riding Loggerhead Lane, the ride at Aquatica Water Park in Orlando，You have to go through an aquarium attraction。

Also，Continuously improving the comfort of tourists is also a detail that water park operators pay more and more attention to。Tourists only have to have fun and be comfortable，Only those who are willing to stay longer and spend more money，Finally bring family and friends to the park for the second time。The biggest challenge to tourists’ comfort is waiting in line to enter the park，Especially in hot weather。

Universal Studios Volcano Bay introduces the innovative TapuTapu 188bet sports betting app download Virtual Line system，Visitors can book ride time for any ride through their bracelet。The main goal of the water park Zoombezi Bay’s recent launch of Otter Banks business is to provide tourists with more optional activities，Reduce the number of people queuing。Except queuing problem，SeaWorld’s Discovery Cove is also adding a day spa experience this summer，Provide tourists with a variety of leisure and vacation products。

PGAV noted in the report，By analyzing the actual operation of the water park and adopting one or more of the strategies mentioned above，The problem of declining visitor numbers in water parks can be effectively solved，And it is predicted that the number of visitors to the top 20 water parks in the world will grow at about 2% in 2018。

However,There is more to building a successful water park than this，Operation management is important，But location、Investment scale、Security, etc.，These are all factors that need to be considered。Water park planners and operators still need to consider all aspects of the conditions，Carry out reasonable design and layout，Only in order to stand out in the market competition。