From large integrated projects in metros to small water parks in tier II townships, the amusement park industry in India continues to witness a steady growth
For an industry that has been growing at a double digit rate in India, the amusement park sector is still at a nascent stage in the country. A recent FICCI-Ernst & Young report has projected healthy growth potential for the sector. The industry is expected to nearly double in size by 2020 in terms of the number of parks with an enhanced portfolio of offerings. ?The industry comprising of park operators and ride manufacturers have adapted to the challenges of the growing demand for technically advanced rides/facilities from its customers and have seen a steady growth of 15 per cent year on year in the past several years,? says Yogesh Dange, president, Indian Association of Amusement Parks and Industries (IAAPI). He avers that increasing urbanisation and changing customer preferences will have positive impact on the industry footfall. This trend shall pave way for more investments in the sector and large integrated projects like the Adlabs Imagica coming up. The existing amusement park players will upgrade their facilities and expand their operations in other cities as well.
The last two decades have witnessed interesting evolution of the sector ? from Appu Ghar that opened in New Delhi in 1984. This was followed by development in major cities with EsselWorld in Mumbai and Nicco Park in Kolkata, while the early 2000s saw many parks coming up in small, medium and large cities. The decade also witnessed the emergence of water parks, which became quite popular. ?Today there are 150 amusement parks in India, across tier I and tier II cities and smaller locations. Of theses, 15 per cent are large parks, 20 to 25 per cent are medium sized and the balance are small parks in smaller towns. These parks are integral for social infrastructure development and also generate a lot of employment,? says Arijit Sengupta, MD & CEO, Nicco Parks & Resorts.
One of the significant developments has been the increase in investment in tier II and tier III cities across the country in the amusement park industry in the last decade. ?The potential from these cities has been encouraging. In the last 10 years at least 40 new parks with varied investments of Rs 5 to Rs 30 crore have been set up in cities other than the metros,? mentions Dange. There are of course many challenges that the sector faces, these range from variable entertainment tax rates in different states to price sensitivity of the Indian consumer to high real estate prices. There is also the issue of supporting infrastructure. ?Due to large land requirements , most amusement parks are located on the outskirts of the cities. In such a scenario, supporting infrastructure such as roads, public transport facilities become critical to improve accessibility to customers,? states Dange.
Constant innovation is key to the business strategy of all key amusement park players. When an amusement park starts it’s novelty is very high but it erodes after three-four years. ?One has to be very careful about the novelty factor to attract people again and again, which we have been able to do ? through introduction of rides, events, shows, etc. It is necessary to be there in the mind of people,? states Sengupta.
Looking forward to its first IPO, Arun K Chittilappilly, MD, Wonderla Holidays urged the government to give amusement/theme parks the industry status. ?These parks must be viewed as social infrastructure for their entertainment value and because they are good for tourism. These parks are also very labour intensive as they employ a lot of people.? Wonderla?s two parks in Bengaluru and Kochi employ around 1700 people. Apart from Wonderla Kochi and Wonderla Bengaluru, Chittilappilly has plans to open two more theme parks ? in Hyderabad (scheduled to open in two years’ time) and Chennai (to open three and a half years from now).
As an organisation Pan India Paryatan (EsselWorld, Water Kingdom and EsselWorld Freeze Pune) believes in constant improvement and innovation. New attractions are added every year. ?In the last few years we have added eight new rides and several attractions at EsselWorld. New rides have been launched at Water Kingdom too. We have always managed to keep our entertainment and thrill factor up. We plan to add many more unique attractions. These new additions will be a regular feature in the coming years for the property,? says Shirish Deshpande, CEO, Pan India Paryatan. The company ventured into the in-mall format with the launch of its first ever brand extension project- EsselWorld FREEZE, which was launched last year in Pune.
Adventure Island in New Delhi was started in December, 2006 with eight rides and within six months 18 rides which were made operational. ?Every year we added one ride each and in year 2010 our last water Ride called H2O was added to make it a completed fun filled destination, now we have in all 23 rides with a right combination of dry and wet park,” says Mohit Sawhney, general manager, Unitech Amusement Parks.
The opening of Adlabs Imagica has been the momentuous happening for the industry this year. ?We are looking at three million people in the first 15 months and after that the number will increase once the water park is added and the hotel comes up,? says Pooja Shetty Deora, joint managing director, Adlabs Imagica. The total investment on the integrated tourism project (theme park, water park and hotel) is Rs 1650 crore, of which the theme park is itself an Rs 1100 crore project.
The emergence of family entertainment centre (FECs) is the next step in the evolution of the industry. Kidzania recently entered the India market with a 75,000 square feet indoor theme park for children in RCity Mall, Mumbai. Non-traditional FECs are also expected to come up in the non-so distant future.
