Leisure park The boom in leisure parks

"Over the last fifteen years, the number of visitors to leisure parks has risen spectacularly, from 3 million a year to almost 70 million in 2006. That's a turnover of around two billion euros!" explains Sophie Huberson, General Secretary of Snelac, the national union for leisure, animal and cultural facilities, adding that "France has almost 300 leisure sites, including 30 % of amusement parks and theme parks, 30 % of animal parks, 30 % of edutainment sites and 10 % of water parks".

According to Odit France (Observation, développement et ingénierie touristique), despite its maturity, the market remains buoyant. Sophie Huberson agrees: "It's still growing! We're seeing a concentration of facilities within European groups such as Compagnie des Alpes, which includes Walibi, Bioscope and Planète Sauvage. At the same time, new attractions are being created: high ropes courses, indoor play areas, sites with a cultural or environmental focus...". Snelac also points out that "while visitor numbers are tending to stabilise, the longer duration of visits, the quality of the services on offer and the renewed appeal are all contributing to an increase in sales".

On the other hand, in recent years the range of attractions has not only continued to diversify, it has intensified. New parks have been created, such as Walt Disney Studios at Disneyland Resort Paris in 2002, and Bioscope in Alsace in 2006. Others have expanded; for example, the Cité de l'Espace in Toulouse doubled its capacity with the opening of Astralia, the sixth continent, in 2005. This represents an additional space of 4,000 m2. Finally, new projects are regularly announced. In spring 2008, the Eana park is due to open its doors a few minutes from Rouen, in Gruchet-le-Valasse, Normandy. It will be a sustainable development park, as Marc Scognamiglio, commercial manager of the Valasse mixed syndicate, explains: "At the heart of a 60-hectare estate of nature and history, it will be like a real bubble of the planet reconstituted around a 12th-century abbey, a testimony to human evolution through time. Our aim is to raise visitors' awareness of the fragility of our ecosystems, by giving them the keys to finding out about alternative solutions that are good for our future. According to Odit France, "over the last ten years or so, investment in leisure parks has represented, on average, 40 % of total sales".

Seminars and incentives

As Sophie Huberson confirms, facilities dedicated to business customers are part of the expenditure made by these parks. "More and more leisure sites are equipped to receive groups, whether for seminars or incentive operations. Although they don't account for a significant proportion of sales, these specific business tourism offers are constantly growing. Quite simply because the corporate clientele is objectively complementary to the individual clientele, particularly for obvious reasons of visitor planning".

Among the pioneers in this field, Disneyland Resort Paris is by far the leader, not only in France, but in Europe. "We receive almost 12.6 million visitors a year, of which 50TP3T are French and the rest European. That makes us Europe's leading destination!" points out Carlo Olejniczak, Director of Business Solutions, the park's business service. "In 2006, business customers accounted for more than 12,600 overnight stays and 1,100 events involving between 10 and 3,000 people, of which 200 generated partial or total privatisation of one of our two parks. The average group size was 173 participants.

France also leads the business tourism market, with 59 % of overnight stays, well ahead of the United Kingdom, Benelux and Germany, with shares of 21 %, 9 % and 5 % respectively. "Virtually every year, we invest in new facilities and attractions. In 2006, we inaugurated a 6,500 m2 event structure; we also offered new themed evenings such as Save the Universe, inspired by the film Toy Story 2, and extended our range of team-building activities. These included ice karting, speed boating on Lake Disney and Disney Film Academy, an incentive based on the 7th art," explains Carlo Olejniczak. In 2007, the park's fifteenth anniversary year, the festivities are set to get even bigger. For example, from this summer, two new attractions based on the films Cars and Nemo will be on the programme, and in 2008 visitors will be able to experience the great thrill of "the tower of terror".

The same investment policy applies to another theme park behemoth, Europa-Park. Located in Rust, near Freiburg, Germany, it is the world's largest seasonal leisure park, with almost 4 million visitors. "The winter season saw an increase of more than 50,000 people compared with 2005, and our hotel complex has an occupancy rate of more than 90 %," enthuses Séverine Delaunay-Rust, Marketing Manager. The opening in 2004 of the Colosseo, the largest Italian hotel outside Italy, which unlike the rest of the site is open all year round, has contributed to this success.

Representing an investment of 50 million euros, it has increased the hotel capacity of the park by 1,450 beds. "In 2007, we will be further expanding our offer by opening a new four-star establishment inspired by the architecture of ancient Portuguese monasteries. The construction will cost almost 10 million euros. At the same time, from April we will be introducing new attractions, including À la découverte d'Atlantis, an expedition into the depths of the ocean in search of the lost city", announces Séverine Delaunay-Rust.

Sites to be privatised

As far as business tourism is concerned, the park organises almost 1,000 events a year, spread across ten conference rooms with a capacity of between 10 and 1,500, with dozens of themed evenings on offer for companies. Of course, the site can be partially or fully privatised, as can Parc Astérix, Disneyland Resort Paris and Europa-Park, which all fall into the leisure park category. Even though we can accommodate up to 6,000 people on a privatised basis, our facilities are more particularly suited to seminars with 300 to 500 participants," explains Rodoph Lauron, events and congress manager. Of the two million visitors to the park between April and October, between 3% and 5 % are business customers. Keen to stay ahead of the game, France's second-largest park regularly invests in its facilities. For example, almost 500,000 euros are being spent on the complete renovation of its amphitheatre. "Fully equipped with sound and image, soundproofing, new seats and state-of-the-art lighting, it will be able to accommodate meetings of up to 500 people. We're counting on this new structure to develop our business activity", Rodolphe Lauron points out.

Science and culture

Science and culture parks are following the same marketing strategy. Since 2005, the Futuroscope park has stepped up its efforts to attract business customers, particularly conference delegates. "We have joined a number of trade associations, including France-Congrès, AIVFC, the interactive association of French-speaking conference cities, and Ouest-Congrès, which brings together nine conference centres in western France. In addition, last year we were awarded the Quali- Congrès label," says Isabelle Cadas, Head of Business Development at Futuroscope Congrès Événements.

Alongside the new attractions, the park's 'challenge' offer has been expanded to include a fourth, more sports-oriented attraction, while an individual accommodation and conference registration management service has been set up. "Of our 1.5 million visitors, around 130,000 are business customers. In 2006, we managed 383 events, the majority of which were events and residential seminars. However, it seems that in 2007 our convention activities are bearing fruit. According to our forecasts, we should reach almost 20 % of this clientele, compared with 10 % in previous years", predicts Isabelle Cadas. Finally, in line with the park's determination to establish itself as a true conference destination, the Plaza Futuroscope hotel, one of the nine establishments on the site, is publishing a brochure for this clientele, Futuroscope Resort.

Meetings and receptions

In the centre of France, in the Auvergne region, Vulcania also welcomes companies on a more modest scale from March to October. Out of an average of 300,000 visitors a year, nearly 6,500 are seminar participants. This target represents between 8 % and 10 % of sales. "Several areas are reserved for organising and hosting events, seminars and other functions," says François Heid, Sales and Marketing Manager. Vulcania can accommodate up to 400 people for a meeting, and up to 1,000 guests for a private cocktail party in the park, and offers various challenges, including Mission Vulcania, which gives groups a fun way to discover the park. "We also offer incentives for flights over the volcanoes in hot-air balloons or helicopters, and we can meet all requests for customised services," explains François Heid. Vulcania is also a member of Auvergne Congrès, a group of private and public regional players whose aim is to promote the region through joint initiatives: participation in trade fairs, publishing and distributing brochures, organising workshops, etc.

The Cité de l'Espace in Toulouse, which also has a scientific connotation, has been meeting the needs of businesses since its creation in 1997. At the time, we only had two small meeting rooms," explains Guadalupe Ramirez, head of business tourism. Today, our Espace Affaires offers a wide range of options for companies: meetings, seminars, study days, product launches, prestige evenings... For example, at the Pavillon des Expositions, groups of up to 900 people can enjoy a guided tour and a cocktail reception. Or, in fine weather, gala dinners can be held under the Mir station". As for Astralia, the sixth continent, it immerses visitors in space thanks to two theatres that can also be used as meeting rooms: a 300-seat Imax large-format cinema and a 280-seat planetarium. "In 2006, the Cité de l'Espace welcomed 18,000 participants to professional events. The opening of the Astralia enabled us to increase the number of business customers by 35 %! In 2007, with the tenth anniversary of the park and the fiftieth anniversary of the conquest of space, this growth should be even stronger," says Guadalupe Ramirez.

This policy of broadening the range of accommodation on offer also applies to animal parks and aquariums. Cerza, the Augeron zoological study and reproduction centre a few kilometres from Lisieux, has inaugurated a unique accommodation concept in France: safari lodges. These consist of 26 pavilions on stilts, entirely built and fitted out with respect for the environment, right in the middle of the Clairière d'Asie. "Each can accommodate up to six people, so guests can spend a night surrounded by wallabies, deer and a variety of bird species," explains Guillaume Laloux, Operations Manager.

These breaks are aimed in particular at groups who want to combine a working session in one of the site's rooms with a themed evening in the Cerza restaurant, followed by an African-style night out, and extend the visit the next day with a tour of the animal park. "We've only been canvassing businesses since April 2006, when we introduced specific tools for this target group, including special documentation and themed walking rallies. But we've already had a dozen seminars, bringing together between 8 and 250 people," says Guillaume Laloux. To complete this offer, he is planning to open a 220-seat auditorium this summer and to organise a half-day themed challenge on the environment.

In the same spirit, the Planète Sauvage safari park, located between Nantes and Pornic, offers packages for groups of around twenty people: entrance to the park, 4×4 raid, dinner and bivouac among antelopes, wolves, zebras and wildebeest. "Safety barriers and the presence of a guide throughout the night prevent any risk," reassures France Simon, group manager. What really sets us apart is our trips to the African savannah... just a few minutes from Nantes! Generally, at the end of the day, guests take part in a 4×4 raid in the park and watch the animals being cared for by guides. They are then taken directly to their bivouac, where an exotic dinner awaits them, followed by a night in tents sleeping five people each. The next day, after breakfast, the groups have a free day in the park.

In a completely different world, the Grand Aquarium in Saint-Malo offers companies the chance to spend the night with sharks, turtles and a gigantic grouper! This exceptional experience is reserved for around ten participants. After a ride in a small submarine and a private tour of the aquarium, they can watch the sharks eat, dine in the middle of the aquariums and sleep on inflatable mattresses. Just a few waves away, the Cité de la Mer in Cherbourg takes a different approach to the big blue. Located in Cherbourg's former transatlantic ferry terminal, the last in Europe, the park specialises in discovering the deep sea and has been welcoming companies since it opened in 2002.

"We walked under the sea

In addition to a number of atypical spaces such as aquariums, Art Deco rooms and a former railway station, the Cité de la Mer offers groups the chance to organise cocktail parties or VIP meals in the Redoutable, the world's only visitable nuclear submarine. "We host around sixty events a year. This figure is constantly rising," says Stéphane Lelarge, head of events marketing. "All the original rooms are gradually being restored. The renovation is due to be completed by the end of 2008, with the creation of a 350-seat conference centre. The latest additions to the park include the arrival of five small submarines and the refurbishment of the nuclear submarine centre with the introduction of interactive areas. Guided tours of the Redoutable - seen from the outside in its dock - are also on offer, as are meetings with a submariner and the presence of a biologist during an operation. Finally, in early 2008, a new attraction will be launched: We walked under the sea, a virtual journey into the deep sea.

Here again, as in all theme parks, there is a constant flow of new creations. What remains for companies is the difficulty of making a choice from the plethora of competing proposals.