Essay Example on Theme Parks: An Outdoor Attraction for Everyone

A theme park can get referred to as an outdoor attraction where tourists go to pass their leisure time. Various shows, rides, and attractions are said to revolve under a central theme. However, with the changing world, which has also affected the people's interests, several themes have been incorporated in most theme parks to take into account all individual's tastes. A theme park differs from an amusement park in that its attractions are themed (Milman, 2001). Also, theme parks entail permanent resources that are managed and controlled for educational and entertainment purposes. As the business environment experiences some swift changes, the tourism sector gets affected too. New challenges continue to face the tourism sector due to the increased number of tourists who seek an authentic atmosphere that is comfortable where they can go and relax. Theme parks have been a choice for most tourists due to the quality services they offer for less amount (Milman, 2001). Their clean and safe environment and the fact that they provide a variety of activities that takes care of each consumer's needs are what motivate most tourists to visit these parks. However, the operations and the success of these parks have gotten neglected due to the massive number of people they receive. The aim of this research is thus limited to determining how the management team have failed in bringing out the success of theme parks and how the mess can get rectified.

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Theme parks are the most preferred relaxation points by most of the tourists; thus, how well or bad they are managed determines the business outcome. Most of the researches have gotten conducted on tourist attractions (Pikkemaat and Schuckert, 2007; Stevens, 2012), but less has been based on theme parks and, most specifically, on what the management team should do to bring the success of theme parks. The area has been neglected by most researchers, with only a few willing to venture into it like Milman, (2001). It, thus, motivated me to dig into this area to determine what management factors contribute to the park's success.

To begin with, various operations take place behind the scene of theme parks to ensure their success. Individuals like designers work tirelessly to ensure the park look attractive to the eyes of whoever views it. When the designer creates something unique and demonstrates their innovative techniques, more tourists get attracted to that park. However, great attraction with poor management can lead to dissatisfaction with visitors (Milman, 2001). Park managers play a significant role in ensuring all operations in the park go smoothly. Some of the activities include ensuring customers are provided with quality services always; the timing for games gets done perfectly; they monitor the number of visitors in a particular game and ensures their safety.

For a specified theme park to be successful, the management should ensure it offers a variety of attractions and options that takes care of each visitor's needs. To conquer and come above their competitors, unique attractions and experiences should get set. Innovativeness should thus be encouraged since visitor's taste keeps on changing with the changing environment. Theming of events also contributes to its success since most customers prefer a clearly defined park (Milman, 2001). The management team should ensure it control the number of visitors visiting a park to avoid overly populated parks. More infrastructures should get added to prevent the congestion of people and to provide a suitable environment for everyone. However, as much as it is a fun and exciting meeting and interacting with various visitors, it becomes a challenge designing and offering services that satisfy each person. When the management fails to meet the visitor's expectations by maybe offering poor services and hiking the prices among other reasons, the theme park may fail to attain its goals and, in other cases, lead to its closure.

I had a chance of interacting with the park manager who operated "The Great Movie Ride" park that got based in Disney's Hollywood studios before its closure. He explained to me the various challenges he underwent to meet the visitor's expectations. The movies were to match the people's expectations, and the audience was the critical factor for any movie. Poor management thus led to its closure.

Conclusion

In conclusion, from interacting with the former park manager, I learned that the choice of management team matters a lot in the success of any business. However, my dream has been to own a theme park where all type of visitors will get the satisfaction of visiting. In the future, I plan to employ experienced leaders who have the same goal as I and who will be willing to take the business like theirs. I also plan to invest in my employees by taking them for training so that they can deliver quality services. The choice of the location also matters in such a business; thus, I will look for a place outside the town where those visitors that just want to meditate on their lives can have their space without distractions.

References

Milman, A. (2001). The future of the theme park and attraction industry: a management perspective. Journal of Travel Research, 40(2), 139-147. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/download/53653026/Does_the_Visiting_Friends_and_Relatives20170625-2956-185uj37.pdf#page=19

Pikkemaat, B., & Schuckert, M. (2007). Success factors of theme parks-An exploration study. Turizam: medunarodni znanstveno-strucni casopis, 55(2), 197-208. Retrieved from https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/38801

Stevens, T. (2012). The future of visitor attractions. In Managing VisitorAattractions: New directions (pp. 302-316). Routledge. Retrieved from https://content.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/download?dac=C2011-0-12018-4&isbn=9781136381218&doi=10.4324/9780080496368-33&format=pdf