Funworld September 2010

With a remarkable rides tradition, a stable parks sector that has yet to achieve its full growth potential, and a new generation of entrepreneurs emerging in the market, it’s time to take another look at the Italian attractions industry as IAAPA heads to Rome in October for Euro Attractions Show 2010.

Gardaland’s evolution in Verona reflects the metamorphosis taking place in the Italian parks business. Twelve years ago, its divisional director, Aldo Vigevani, had a career journey that led to him trading in a career in the car industry— he was previously director of Alfa Romeo/Fiat Group sales in Europe—for the world of theme parks. “A headhunter asked if I wanted to join a new ‘reality’ in northern Italy, and I had in mind another very famous company,” he recalls, laughing. Nevertheless, the headhunter persuaded a skeptical Vigevani to spend a few hours at Gardaland: “I want to thank him because that was the beginning of my history here, and I’ve never felt such enthusiasm and involvement in my work. I’ll be here until I retire!” he says.

Vigevani joined the theme park, built by local developers in 1975 in one of Italy’s busiest and most cosmopolitan resorts, Lake Garda. Close to the tourist hubs of Verona and Venice, Lake Garda attracts visitors with its Alpine vistas, romantic towns, and Mediterranean climate (except for this year’s cold and rainy spring). “Thank goodness the weather has finally gone in the right direction; things are going much better now,” says Vigevani, who expects attendance to be more than 3 million this season.

Constant Growth
Gardaland is part of Merlin Entertainments Group’s growing attractions empire. In 2006, the group acquired the park for a reported €500 million (US$630 million) from its two main shareholders, Investindustrial and Banca Popolare di Verona. The deal included a 250- room hotel and a tour operator, Incoming Gardaland.

Merlin inherited a “well-managed park, built on shrewd gut instinct, with a good track record of growth year after year,” says Vigevani. Gardaland’s original developers invested regularly in the park—extending the land, adding new features, and maintaining quality standards— albeit on an ad hoc basis. “Merlin brought in more organic development and a cap-ex cycle,” says Vigevani. “Also, we now have extensive customer service and quality monitoring, which is in line with Merlin’s strategy.”

Merlin backed the Gardaland team’s bid to transform the park into a resort destination. The ambition became a reality with the 2008 debut of the Sea Life aquarium second gate. Gardaland now offers guests the option to buy combined park/Sea Life tickets: “Roughly 60 percent of Sea Life’s visitors come from the park,” says Vigevani.

Planning permission is in place for a second 200-room hotel, and Merlin’s deal with CVC Capital Partners (which acquired a 28 percent stake in Merlin in June) means the group has access to fresh funding. This will ensure continuing investment in Merlin’s existing estate (with projects like those at Gardaland) and the group’s opening plans, including three to four new smaller standalone attractions per year and major projects such as Legoland parks in Florida and Malaysia.

In line with the Merlin cap-ex cycle, work has also started on a new “world first” ride at Gardaland due to launch in 2011. Vigevani is tight-lipped about the “very big ride.”

“This year, with the economic downturn, we wanted to offer our main target groups a good reason to come,” says Vigevani. Gardaland had two new attractions for 2010: the “Inferis” (“Inferno”) horror maze for teenagers and the family- oriented and effects-laden SpongeBob Square Pants 4-D movie, a new brand for Italy.

Industry Challenges in Italy
Theme parks can be a tough sell in such an alfresco culture. Italians love open-air activities and the seaside, which goes some way to explaining why “this is an underdeveloped and under-supplied market compared to other countries,” says Vigevani. “Our research shows that the average Italian visits the park once every three years, though there is a big appetite every time you present a novelty.” Italians account for 90 percent of Gardaland’s business, with the remainder of visitors driving in mainly from Germany and Austria.

While the Merlin and Parques Reunidos groups have snapped up the country’s two biggest parks—Gardaland and Mirabilandia, respectively—many other homegrown attractions are family owned. “The market is very fragmented, but there is the opportunity for it to work,” says Vigevani. “Up until now few parks have existed, especially in central and southern Italy, so there is definitely space for growth.”

Should Italians worry about overseas companies buying up their theme park assets? “Italians are used to it because it is not only the parks,” Vigevani says. “Our most famous brands from food to fashion are, in the end, a foreign corporation and it makes no difference. From a local point of view, Gardaland has always been seen as a Veronese property.”

In fact, the deal has been mutually beneficial. Gardaland’s powerful reputation has opened doors for Merlin’s other brands in the country: “Sea Life was unknown in Italy so, in the beginning, we had to say to our clients, ‘This is the aquarium of Gardaland and its name is Sea Life,’” says Vigevani. “Now, two years on, Sea Life is getting more and more independent in terms of its image.”

As for the challenges ahead: “One of the reasons for Gardaland’s success is the quality of the experience: Gardaland is famous for its theming, cleanliness, landscaping, and Italian meals. The challenge is to keep that quality high,” he says. “We should be ready to fight against negative economic trends which influence people’s spending attitudes and external leisure competition. I want to consolidate our destination strategy, which means expanding the accommodations and packages, and enlarging the park offering. People should see the Gardaland resort as the ideal location to spend a precious weekend.

“The other objective is to increase the frequency of people’s visits. I don’t think there’s a specific Italian recipe to be successful in this market—quality and value for money are the main ingredients.”

Juliana Gilling is a specialist attractions journalist. E-mail: julianagilling@gmail.com.