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 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.
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Positive result for the Euro Attractions Show 2012
The 9th edition of the Euro Attractions Show (EAS), Europe’s largest trade show and conference for the amusement parks and attractions industry, has broken all records with more than 8,100 attendees including 5,800 qualified buyers from all over the world.
Held by the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) between 9 to 11 October at the exhibition center Messe Berlin in Germany, the event also featured the largest number of exhibitors in its history - 367 coming from more than 80 countries - on a record exhibit space of more than 9.000 net square meters (approx 96,875 square feet).
More than one hundred categories of products and services were presented on the show floor for all players of the industry including operators and owners of amusement parks, water parks, family entertainment centers, zoos, aquariums, museums resorts, casinos and holiday parks.
The optimism of the industry, relatively unaffected by the financial crisis and economic downturn, has been clearly reflected throughout the 3 days of the event as stated Roland Mack, the current chairman of the board of IAAPA: "Our industry is more dependent on weather conditions than the economic situation! And with a total volume of investments exceeding annually €400 million (editor's note: approx $516 million), it demonstrated its increasing importance for the entire European tourism sector. EAS is now recognized as the most important trade show in Europe. Once again, we did not only prove that the amusement industry supplies services on highest qualitative level but also the high innovative power of our dynamic economic sector."
The conference program, organized in parallel to the trade show, has been also a great success for IAAPA with more than 1,200 participants, an increase of 21% compared to the EAS 2011 in London. Many topics were discussed by industry professionals such as social media, sustainable development, new technologies, safety issues, trends in Food & Beverage sector, emerging markets or seasonal events.
The EAS also hosted several special events including its first opening ceremony which was attended by an impressive number of participants just before the inaugural ribbon cutting. During the traditional Leadership Breakfast, the CEO of PortAventura Fernando Aldecoa and the managing director of Europa-Park Roland Mack explained the success of their business models while all the networking events and the visits to local attractions (Tropical Island and Filmpark Babelberg) were sold out.
Finally, because EAS is primarily intended to bring together all industry players in order to shape the future, it is important to note that several major contracts were signed during the week, like the Projekt Helix at Liseberg (with MACK Rides) or a new Launch Coaster at Tripsdrill (with Gerstlauer Rides). During a press conference was also announced the start of the construction of Adventure World Warsaw in Poland.
Feedback from exhibitors and attendees
As we mentionned it before, NewsParcs was in Berlin to meet with various exhibitors (see our photo album) and talk about their products and projects. We took this opportunity to gather some feedback about this 2012 edition.
According to Benoît Cornet, CEO of Alterface: "The EAS was great for us, there were a lot of people and interest in our innovations. Berlin has met our expectations and we saw people from extreme qualities. We have been really able to do the job of promoting our image and our ideas that we wanted to do."
“We had great success in Europe with some of our best attractions completed including Challenge of Tutankhamen at Walibi Belgium, El Laberinto del Minotauro at Terra Mitica and Laser Blast at LEGOLAND Windsor,” said John Wood, Chairman and CEO of Sally Corporation. "We have greatly enjoyed this EAS, it's been very busy. We have been involved in this European trade show since IAAPA decided to organize it and we are happy that it is growing and getting better every year.”
“We have always a busy booth here at EAS,” explained Marco Mazzuchi, marketing manager of Zamperla. “We met a lot of our customers as well as potential buyers”. Sohret Pakis, marketing manager of Polin, added : “Three days was not enough! We had a very good trade show with many qualified buyers coming from all over the world. Even if the economy is not going so good, we still see a big potential in Europe and we are confident because there are a lot of new projects coming!"
"We were too busy, I will complain to IAAPA that EAS was too successful! » joked Jan Maarten de Raad, CEO of Jora Vision. “We had a large booth presenting our new subsidiary: Jora Entertainment. We really had a good show here in Berlin!”
According to Peter Bobst, Area Sales manager for Gerslauer Rides: “That was a great show! It is getting each year more and more popular and it’s still growing!”. “EAS was pretty okay for us, we sold several rides, so we are really satisfied!” added Peter Theuniz, Sales manager for KMG Europe.
“It’s always very interesting to be here, especially since it’s the third time we are exhibiting in a row,” said Kurt Heerman, owner of Neverland Themepark Projects. “We are becoming a company recognized for its quality work, so we met a lot of new people who came to present the projects they are working on. We also saw our existing customers with which we share new ideas."
“We are more than satisfied!" added Olaf Mordelt, owner of One World Studio. "I loved what the exhibitors have displayed in Berlin and I was amazed by the number of the visitors coming from all over the world.”
On the side of attendees, we talked to Alain Trouvé, International Relations Director for Compagnie des Alpes, one of the tenth largest amusement parks operator in the world with more than 9 million visitors each year. "The EAS is important for us because we see our suppliers, we learn about new products available on the market and we have the opportunity to meet many people of the industry with whom we have important contacts but not regularly. For instance, Compagnie des Alpes is currently developing a new amusement park project in Morocco and we are working on the choice of rides and attractions. So EAS is an excellent opportunity to learn and advance in our discussions."
Among the many professional associations represented on the show floor was the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), a non-profit organization of more than 7,000 members active in the themed entertainment industry. According to Gene Jeffers, executive director, “The Euro Attractions Show is one of the largest that relates to the themed entertainment industry in Europe. Therefore we like to come here, we have about 20 of our member companies exhibiting at the show and there are additionally probably several hundred of other TEA members who come and attend the event. So that’s a great opportunity to see them, interact with them and get feedback about how the association is doing and what we can do to improve our operations here in Europe.”
See you in Paris in 2013!
The Euro Attractions Show 2013 will be held in Paris from September 18 to 20 at Parc des Expositions Porte de Versailles. More than 200 companies have already reserved a booth for an exhibit surface exceeding the 6,000 square meters (approx 64,590 square feet). For more information, please visit www.iaapa.org/EAS
In the meantime, the industry will gather at the IAAPA Attractions Expo to be held from 12 to 16 November in Orlando, USA. NewsParcs will be present throughout the event to cover all the latest industry news.
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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.
