Introduction
Tourism has continued to be an essential component of development planning in nations. In some instances tourism has been perceived as a redeemer to sluggish industries, generating new connections and demands. Specifically, the diverse subdivisions of the tourism industry, such as hospitality, catering, food and beverages, tours, recreational activities and the entertainment industry, transport, souvenir manufacturing and sale are accounted to unlock enormous outlooks for employment and profits to varied populations. Governments, connected business clusters and international financing organizations are inclined to look upon tourism as an uncontaminated industry. ( 2001) An element of the tourism industry includes the emergence of theme parks as well as amusement parks. It is this sector where tourism as a recreation is among the emerging industries all over the world. With the impetus provided by United States companies such as Walt Disney, theme and amusement parks have become among the most sought after places for the public. This study will look into the business environment of the theme park industry in the UK setting. In order to coherently discuss the said subject, the paper will be divided into several parts so as to provide a more detailed discussion on the specific issues concerning the theme park industry in the United Kingdom.
The Theme Park Industry
According to a report of the European Commission (2005), the term “amusement park” is used to indicate theme parks, amusement parks and water parks. In the same report, they stated that the past two decades presented an astounding yet constant increase of amusement parks in the region. Along with this increase in the number of amusement parks is the emergence of rides with over 170 kilometres per hour as well as those possessing falls that comprise of over 100 metres. In the context of the United Kingdom on the other hand, the notion of “theme park” has constantly been alluded to the by the critics of the Conservatives throughout the nation’s loss in its industrial base in the 80’s. ( 2001) However, the industry of amusement parks and theme parks in UK has been “deeply assimilated” in the culture of the said nation.
As (2001) noted in his study, the notion of theme parks and amusement parks have similar qualities as that of what he noted as “fairs of old.” He claimed that the amusement parks of today provide entertainment to the public by means of performing arts. Actors in costume as well as musical shows still prevail in the industry. However, it is the presence of rides and other “electromechanical delights” that pulls people in coming into this place nowadays. To some extent, this still reveal some sort of emulation of the fairs of old. These theme parks continues to allow the attendees to participate in the fun and games provided for by the theme of the place. The presence of such rides and electromechanical delights makes this mission of the theme parks to happen.
Among the major them parks in the United Kingdom includes Alton Towers, Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventures, and Drayton Manor Park. These establishments make over ₤30M annually and attract several millions of visitors yearly. ( 2001) There are other parks that focus more on the “theme” rather than to the thrills provided by the rides in it. There is the Centre Parcs, which is a Dutch theme park, focuses more on the provision of “sports, leisure, and environmental facilities, using a blend of sophisticated technologies.” ( 2001) Another is Warwick Castle. It is a 60 acre park which focuses more on the medieval themes. Thus, activities such as jousting and archery are among the more favourite of those in the visitors.
Stakeholders in the Industry
According to the report by the European Commission (2005), there are three sectors that comprise the industry. These include the rides manufacturers, the amusement parks, and the people working in these amusement parks. The manufacturers of the rides are generally represented by the European Association for the Amusement Supplier Industry (EAASI). On the other hand, the amusement parks are represented by the European Federation of Leisure Parks (Europarks). Similarly, the said workers in these amusement parks are represented by the European Showmen’s Union (USU/UFE). These three players are considered as the major stakeholders in the industry of theme parks and amusement parks.
The European Association for the Amusement Supplier Industry (EAASI) was established in 2000. Its main mission is to raise the industry profile of ride manufacturing and tackle issues regarding their trade particularly with regards to safety standards, European legislation, and international relations. The European Federation of Leisure Parks (Europarks), on the other hand, was established in 1981 represents over two hundred amusement parks in Europe. Similar to that of the EAASI, the intention of Europarks is also geared towards several agenda. However, the prevailing one is the maintenance of their reputation of safety among the members.
Responsibilities Present in the Theme Park Industry
In the said industry, it has earlier been noted that the existence of rides and other “electromechanical delights” has been the main attraction for theme parks. It is thus the responsibility of the members and players of the theme park industry to carry out risk assessment procedures with regards to these rides particularly with its effect to the consuming public. This means that the amusement parks have a responsibility to its consumers with regards to the effects of their normal operations and abnormal operation. The normal operations constitute the occurrence where the rides are operated as planned. In this context, the consumer may possibly encounter dizziness or nausea as a result of rides with “extreme thrills” involved. On the other hand, the abnormal operations constitute events where the ride does not acquire the intended purpose which normally brings about accidents. This could provide consequent injuries such as bruises, trauma, or even death. The report of the European Commission revealed that there have been 19,000 injuries that have transpired throughout the member states. ( 2005) Moreover, the table below summarizes the recent accidents that took place in UK concerning theme parks.
Table 1 . Recent Accident in Amusement Parks in UK
Date
Location
Specifics
July 2000
Blackpool Pleasure Beach
An 11 year old boy fell from a roller coaster and died
July 2000
Thorpe Park
A fire broke out
July 2000`
Blackpool Pleasure Beach
An adult and three kids were injured after falling off the carousel
July 2002
Gulliver’s World
A young lady fell off the Big Wheel and died
From: 2005
Policies and its Effects on the Industry
In 1997, the UK Health and Safety Executive presented a publication regarding the safe practice of fairgrounds and amusement parks (HSG175). The said guideline provides courses of action that intends to manage the risk levels of the rides and other operations that are carried out in amusement and theme parks. In its section F, it takes into consideration the duties of the controllers, purchasing and selling of an attraction, adjustments and fixing of the machines, efficient maintenance of the rides, existence of a safe system of operation, proper selection and training of employees, and the proper procedures once an emergency transpires.
However, compared to its contemporaries in EU, this piece of legislation is weak considering other members of the union have enacted specific laws regarding the conduct in Amusement Parks. Such countries include Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. As compared to the legislation provided by the said countries the one presented in UK is non-regulatory in nature. This means that the failure to follow such actions stated in the said guidelines will not necessarily place the Amusement parks in direct liability once any abnormal operations take place.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The theme park industry in the United Kingdom is continuously a growing area. However, the discussions above revealed that it has been marred by accidents in the past years. The existence of such risk in these areas defeats its purpose of providing fun and recreation for the consumers. It is thus recommended by this study that the government of UK create an actual law that regulates the industry. This will be able the government to effectively control the industry by the provision of sanctions for breach of such laws. The current presence of non-regulatory measures provided by the government does well to the industry. However, these non-regulatory measures are only effective when the industry supports these regulations. It is the position of the paper that the government should step up and create a model that would establish a safe and risk free industry among amusement and theme parks.
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