What makes Poland’s biggest waterpark work? “Seeing our aquapark as an entertainment business, not as a pool business,” says Tomasz Wojtkiewicz, operations director at Wrocławski Park Wodny. At this European waterpark, you are as likely to find theatrical shows and salsa dancing as slides and swimming pools. It is a vibrant “meeting place” for everyone living in Wrocław, says the park’s marketing and sales director Agata Bro ek.
Preparing for Growth
Wrocław is one of Poland’s fastest growing cities and will be in the spotlight next June as a host of the Euro 2012 football championships. Wrocławski Park’s team is already working with the city’s new 42,000-seat stadium, which opened in September. The plan is to provide a special program for players, fans, and visitors. This opportunity should make 2012 the best season yet for the waterpark.
Three years ago Wrocławski Park was the first major leisure facility to open in Wrocław, at a cost of €33 million (US$46 million). Wrocław is Poland’s fourth largest city in terms of population (633,000/source: Poland’s Central Statistics Office) and is situated in the southwest region, approximately 350 kilometers (217.5 miles) from Warsaw, Berlin, and Prague.
The waterpark started out as a public/private partnership with the German company InterSPA, but the city took control of the project in 2007, and the attraction is now publicly owned. Annual visitor numbers stand at more than 1.1 million, and day visitors are increasing. “Two years ago the day visitor record was 4,500, last year it was 5,000, and this year we have had more than 6,000, so you can see the progress every year,” says Wojtkiewicz.
The waterpark’s success has generated a wave of similar projects across the country: “There are 11 big aquaparks in Poland, although Wrocławski Park is still the largest and the most visited. We know of 20 smaller projects, but the industry is developing really fast,” says Wojtkiewicz.
Wrocławski Park covers 18,300 square meters (4.5 acres) with a water surface area of 2,365 square meters (25,457 square feet); it has a maximum capacity of 1,800 people at any one time. It offers indoor and outdoor pools and is also divided into zones. These include saunas and wellness, sports and fitness, a competition pool, seven food and beverage outlets (from an Italian-style trattoria to cafés), and recreation pools with attractions. The attraction zone is where you will find the park’s seven slides, a wave pool, lazy river, and jacuzzis. “We have a product for every person. If you are looking for entertainment, sport, relaxation, or family leisure, you will find it here,” says Bro ek.
Creating a Buzz
The waterpark has worked with cultural organizations including Wrocław’s opera, philharmonic orchestra, and theaters to add value to its programs all year round. The venue has hosted concerts and events such as the “Sharks in a Pool’ children’s play, specially written for the waterpark by Wrocław Puppet Theater. “Many aquaparks have asked us to sell them the license for this event because it was a great success,” says Bro&ek.
This year the waterpark has presented performances by the Fairy Tale Bus mobile theater, as well as monthly salsa classes. Looking longer term, Bro&ek hopes to see the waterpark opening an open-air cinema that will allow guests to enjoy short films while they bathe in the pools.
 The range of visitor experiences on offer means guests are more likely to return: 60 percent of Wrocławski Park’s audience are repeat visitors. They typically stay three to four hours in the summer period and up to 2.5 hours in the winter. Average ticket prices start at PLN26 (US$9) for one hour; the two-hour PLN37 (US$12) ticket is the most popular.
“Our biggest goal is not to keep customers for the second or even third time. For us, success is when customers come back to us 20 times or more. To do that, you have to give them new attractions,” says Wojtkiewicz.
The latest addition to the waterpark is a “Multimedia Slide,” featuring lighting and music effects, which connects to its existing bowl slide. The park teamed with ice cream brand Algida to decorate the slide’s exterior with an eyecatching strawberry theme, a first for Poland.
The project also demonstrates the waterpark’s canny approach to funding. Rather than paying up front for the attraction, Wrocławski Park will repay the construction company (Polish supplier Mazur, www.mazur.net.pl) over three years by charging people a nominal fee of PLN1.5 (€0.35/$0.33) to use the slides. Even if guests choose not to pay the supplement, they are still visiting to see the new slides in action, so the investment is a win-win for the waterpark, believes Wojtkiewicz.
New investments
The company is always looking for ways to work within a “tricky financial system” says Wojtkiewicz. Right now the operator is setting up an investment in the building’s management system worth PLN2.5 million (US$800,000). “From the savings we will make on water, energy, and other services, we are going to pay back the company building the system in the next five years,” explains Wojtkiewicz.
This measure, along with other efficiencies, will help the eco-friendly waterpark reduce energy consumption and costs, while improving its environmental performance. The attraction already generates a portion of its electricity and recycles the heat produced back into the building. Sales of surplus energy to the city are also helping to offset costs.
Opening a hotel is another ambition within the next five years, according to Wojtkiewicz. The company is looking for a partner to create a 140-room accommodation with conference rooms, which will be joined to the waterpark via walkway.
Saunas are proving to be one of the most popular and lucrative parts of the waterpark’s business, and the company is expanding its facilities. Construction will start this year on seven new saunas set in an outdoor garden that will complement the existing saunas, thalasso pool, hydrotherapy area, steam bath, and day spa. Future plans include three new pools within the next three years, beginning with an outdoor children’s pool. A drive-in restaurant for the center’s guests is also in the works.
Commercial success
“We don’t wait for the customers; we are trying to catch them every moment we can,” says Wojtkiewicz. That impulse has driven the waterpark to foster relationships with the city’s zoo (with a joint visitor ticket), cinemas, and even shopping malls: “Our biggest external challenge is competition, but it’s better to co-operate than to fight with other organizations. We want to work together because we want to be seen as part of the city,” says Wojtkiewicz.
Internally, the biggest challenge has been to change the mind-set of the company from a public entity supported by the city into a self-supporting and sustainable business. “We work 365 days a year to achieve the lowest costs and the biggest incomes, and to be progressive in marketing, technology, and management,” says Wojtkiewicz. “We’re seen as a trendsetter, and many investors who are planning to open new aquaparks are coming here to see what we have achieved. The best proof of our competence is that the city is considering building five other pools and asking us to manage them.”
For more information, visit www.parkwodny.wroc.pl/en.
Juliana Gilling is a specialist attractions journalist. E-mail: julianagilling@gmail.com.
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