Information

My Account

Theme Park Supplier's News of the Week #12 Bolliger Mabillard, MAURER Rides, ETF Ride Systems, Lo-...

World Waterpark Association Success for WWA's 33th Symposium and Trade Show

Hong Kong Disneyland to introdoce Iron Man Experience First major Marvel attraction planned in 2016

Theme Park Supplier's News of the Week #11 Zamperla, Simworx, Electrosonic, Vortex

Theme Park Industry News Roundup #6 Liseber, Universal Parks and Resorts, IAAPA, Herschend ...

Premier Rides wins €8 million contract with Plopsa Gr... New launch coaster to open at Holiday Park in 2014

Theme Park Industry News Roundup #5 Tokyo Disney Resort, Merlin, European Star Awards

Record anniversary edition for Euro Attractions Show More than 8,500 attendees on a record exhibit floor

Top Stories
Supplier's News
WWA
Hong Kong Disneyland
Supplier's News
Industry News
Premier Rides
Industry News
Euro Attractions Show

Latest Industry News

CORPORATEPublished on January 28, 2014 NewsParcs to take an extended break

EVENTPublished on November 10, 2013 IAAPA Attractions Expo 2013 debuts next week in Orlando

CORPORATEPublished on November 10, 2013 Difficult season for Compagnie des Alpes' amusement parks

NEWPublished on October 21, 2013 Theme Park Supplier's News of the Week #12

EVENTPublished on October 21, 2013 Success for the 33th symposium and trade show of the World Waterpark...

NEWPublished on October 13, 2013 Disney to introduce first major Marvel attraction at Hong Kong...

NEWPublished on October 13, 2013 Theme Park Supplier's News of the Week #11

NEWPublished on October 13, 2013 Theme Park Industry News Roundup – Issue #6

NEWPublished on October 6, 2013 Premier Rides wins €8 million contract to build a launch coaster...

581 articles published » See all articles

Welcome!

NewsParcs is an online trade publication dedicated to theme park industry professionals worldwide.

Since 1998, we work in direct contact with manufacturers, suppliers, consultants, owners and operators to publish only reliable and relevant information.

NewsParcs, connecting the theme park industry!

Supplier's News

NewsParcs will do a full coverage of the IAAPA Attractions Expo 2013 in Orlando to have a look at the latest trends and developments of the global theme park industry.

Follow us on Twitter (@NewsParcs) from November 19 to 22 with the hashtag #IAAPA

Belgian theme parks counterattack pessimistic

weather reports

Update : 20:27 Published by François Mayné the 15 July 2012, Economy.

This isn't really a surprise, the poor weather conditions in Belgium have not really been up to the expectations of theme parks operators since the beginning of the season in April!

A cloudy sky, heavy rains and temperatures below average are indeed frequent this recent weeks... A situation which is totally the opposite of the start of 2011 season where the sun and even hot temperatures had led to attendance records for most of theme parks in the country.

If one can not really avoid the raindrops, however, some Belgian operators believe that media are generally too pessimistic when they announce the weather reports with consequently a decline in visitors and a loss of turnover. Walibi Belgium (owned by Compagnie des Alpes) and the Wildlife park Paira Daiza have decided to launch an original action by asking the media to present their weather reports with a little more optimism. They are followed in this initiative by Plopsa Group (operator of Plopsaland De Panne, Plopsa Coo and Plopsa Indoor Hasselt), Bobbejaanland (Parque Reunidos) and Bellewaerde Park (Compagnie des Alpes).

In concrete terms, theme parks operators request that each weather report to be more faithful to reality with more complete information and a vocabulary less pessimistic and redundant. As an example, weather forecast announcements in Belgium focus regularly on the rain periods while a study of IRM (the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium) shows that periods without rain are more numerous in the country (eg: more than 90% in June).

Belgian theme parks counterattack pessimistic weather reports

Yvan Moreau (administator of Pairi Daiza) et Jean-Christophe Parent (GM of Walibi Belgium)

"Incomplete and unfairly pessimistic weather reports may affect over 50% of the daily attendance of outdoor attractions. Repercussions represent a loss of hundreds of thousands of euros per day for the sector " explain Walibi Belgium and Pairi Daiza in a formal statement. "Another disadvantage is that these weather forecasts have the effect to concentrate the influx of visitors on a small number of days during a season with as a result a congestion and a less confortable visit for them. At least, it is clear that these pessimistic weather reports encourage Belgian to leave the country far from our attractions. This of course has a direct impact on tourism, a major economic sector in our country!"

This symbolic statement at least has the merit of having been widely broadcasted in the national press, exactly as a similar initiative conducted by Belgian seaside resorts a few days earlier. But it is unclear whether this will really influence how media describe their weather reports...

A lull of the weather is expected this late in July. A news that could bring smiles to the Belgian theme parks operators for which quarter of the summer season is already over...

Pairi Daiza - Plopsa Group - Plopsaland De Panne - Plopsa Coo - Bellewaerde Park - Bobbejaanland -

Written by François Mayné

François Mayné Publishing Director » Contact Us
» all articles

NewsParcs
(11 articles found)

NewsParcs to take an extended break read more

These past three years have been intense for NewsParcs. Our magazine, which has been dedicated to the global theme parks industry since 1998, underwent major changes to become one of the most appreciated magazines among many...

CORPORATE | NewsParcs - Published on January 28, 2014

TEA's experience design conference SATE 2013 debuts this week in Savannah, USA read more

The non-profit organization Themed Entertainment Association is organizing its 9th annual conference on experience design SATE 2013 from October...

EVENT | NewsParcs - Published on September 29, 2013

Win tickets for Euro Attractions Show 2013 in Paris read more

Euro Attractions Show, the largest conference and trade show for the attractions industry in Europe, will be held this year from September 18-20,...

EVENT | NewsParcs - Published on July 2, 2013

Theme Park Industry Year in Review 2012 : part 3 read more

We conclude today our retrospective of the year 2012 in the theme park industry by focusing on the trend of water parks and on the highlights of the leading suppliers and manufacturers. We conclude with an original twist...

FEATURE | NewsParcs - Published on January 18, 2013

Theme Park Industry Year in Review 2012 : part 2 read more

After addressing a number of topics in the first part of our 2012 retrospective, in this article we discuss the trends and major rollercoaster projects of the year, before reviewing the highlights of the leading suppliers a...

FEATURE | NewsParcs - Published on January 14, 2013

Theme Park Industry Year in Review 2012 : Part I read more

While 2013 has just begun and the glances are now turned to the coming months, NewsParcs today takes a little time to look back on 2012 one last time by presenting a retrospective of the year. In a changing world, where...

FEATURE | NewsParcs - Published on January 6, 2013

Best Wishes and a Happy New Year 2013! read more

The whole team of NewsParcs wishes you a Happy New Year 2013! If this is not yet the case, we kindly invite you to subscribe to our newsletter in order to receive - at the frequency of your choice - the summary of the ...

EVENT | NewsParcs - Published on January 1, 2013

Happy Holidays! read more

All the team of NewsParcs wishes you a merry Christmas and happy holidays! We hope to see you in early January for our next updates, beginning with the year in review! Please feel free to subscribe to our newsletter, so ...

EVENT | NewsParcs - Published on December 21, 2012

previous
Page 1/2
next

Select Articles

more search options less search options

Magazine

Hydro (Oakwood Theme Park) Gyrotour (Futuroscope) Blue Fire (Europa-Park) Sledge Hammer (Bobbejaanland) Stunt Fall (Parque Warner Madrid) Toy Story Mission Parachute (Walt Disney Studios) Troy (Toverland) Star Flyers (Plopsaland) Uppswinget (Liseberg) Lynet (Farup Sommerland) Grande Roue (Walibi Belgium) Cobra (Paultons Family Theme Park) G-force (Walibi Holland) Stealth (Thorpe Park) El Volador (Bellewaerde Park) Katun (Mirabilandia) Hurakan Condor (Port Aventura)