The theme park industry had been steadily globalizing for the past 25 years following growth in regions of
increasing urbanization, rising leisure time and discretionary income. The US-Canada market was highly
developed, concentrated in the hands of a few operations such as Walt Disney Company, Six Flags, and
Universal Studios which were diversifying and expanding internationally. Europe had yet to reach maturity
and the industry was repositioning to adjust to the urban patterns, consumption patterns and differences
in disposable income. In Asia and the Pacific there was intense but regional expansion, with significant
growth in China.
The future of theme parks was a mix of global and local strategies. While Disney and Six Flags pursued
direct developments and franchise arrangements, international theme parks were being developed by
corporate conglomerates, not the Disney’s and Six Flags, in association with local governments. Local
governments could create an economic environment that would attract investors to invest in major leisure
and entertainment attractions. Local investment also injected the voice of community into the identity of
the parks. In Asia, localization played an important role, leaving few themed developments by franchise
players. Many parks were developed by corporate conglomerates with government sponsorships,
including Hong Kong Disneyland.
Competition amongst theme parks was looking globally for leisure time and tourism dollars. Increasingly,
theme parks were an important factor in how tourists chose destinations. Locally, shopping malls were
moving into areas of amusement and entertainment to keep shoppers in the mall, some attracting
international tourism. Mega-malls were integrating entertainment features such as ice rinks, roller coasters
and entertainment centers. Even sophisticated home entertainment systems competed for leisure time,
keeping people at home and away from outings to the parks. Parks were responding in their design to shift
perceptions from “a day at the park” to “a week at the park”. This meant competing with other tourist
destinations and establishing themselves as reliable extended stay destinations to attract repeat visitors.
As the traditional family base was decreasing in developed markets, parks had to reach for wider
demographic segments, targeting select market segments. Multi-segmentation strategies were necessary
to attract the family base, older visitors, singles, ethnic groups and other segments.