MP63110

MAPS : European Tourist Atractions : July 2000

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This report covers: European, tourist attractions, fun, attractions, wildlife, cultural, parks, theme parkds, wildlife,safari, parks, recreation, aquatic, museums, zoos, and, aquaria, heritage sites,Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK,

Companies covered include: Euro Disney, Europa Park, Tussauds, Legoland, Universal Studios, National Trust,

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2. Executive Summary

INTRODUCTION

This report uses the definitions of the market for international travel and tourism as recommended by the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), and adopted by the United Nations (UN) Statistical Commission in March 1993. The products that comprise the tourist attractions that are the subject of this report are not dealt with in these recommendations, and terms used to describe them can vary. Where more than one term is in use, commonly used alternatives are also shown.

tourism

Tourism is defined by the WTO as comprising the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes.

Forms of Tourism

In relation to a given country, the following forms of tourism can be distinguished as follows:

domestic tourism — involving residents of a given country travelling only within that country

inbound tourism — involving non-residents travelling in that country

outbound tourism — involving residents travelling in another country.

Classifications of Tourism Demand

Several purposes of visit are distinguished as follows:

leisure, recreation and holidays

visiting friends and relatives (VFR)

business and professional

health treatment

religion/pilgrimages

other.

It should be noted that visits to attractions will normally be made by those whose purpose of visit is classified as forming part of the leisure, recreation and holidays sector, although business travellers may also make visits to cultural and other attractions as part of their visit.

Basic Tourism Units — Categories of Traveller

Visitors are defined as all types of travellers engaged in tourism. (Some travellers, e.g. migrant workers, lorry drivers, airline pilots, ships crews, those travelling to their place of work, are not engaged in tourism and are hence not defined as visitors.)

There are two main categories of visitor:

International visitor — defined as 'any person who travels to a country other than that in which he or she has his or her usual residence for a period not exceeding 12 months, and whose main purpose of visit is other than the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the country visited'

Domestic visitor — defined as 'any person residing in a country who travels to a place within the country, outside his or her usual environment for a period not exceeding 12 months, and whose main purpose of visit is other than the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited'.

Both international visitors and domestic visitors are further classified as:

Tourists — visitors who stay at least one night in collective or private accommodation in the place visited

Same-day visitors — visitors who do not spend the night in collective or private accommodation in the place visited.

Each of the above categories of visitor represents a potential market for visitor attractions.

Classifications of Tourism Expenditure

Several categories of tourism expenditure are distinguished as follows:

package travel, package holidays and package tours

accommodation

food and drink

transport

recreation, culture and sporting activities

shopping

other.

Visitor attractions mainly involve expenditure under the heading of recreation, culture and sporting activities, although most will also provide food and drink, and some will offer accommodation, e.g. Disneyland Paris and Futuroscope.

Product Definition

Visitor Attractions

This report is concerned with a range of products considered under the general heading of `visitor attractions'. Alternative terms such as `leisure attractions' and `tourist attractions' are frequently used, but these are somewhat more restrictive. For instance, earlier definitions imply that tourist attractions would have no day visitors, and leisure attractions would have no business visitors. However, this is not always the case. A significant part of the market for many attractions is made up of day visitors, resident locally, whilst many tourists, whose main purpose of visit is business, will make a visit to an attraction such as a museum or monument during the trip.

In its annual publication recording the level of visits to attractions in the UK, the English Tourism Council (ETC) adopts the following criteria for inclusion in the report, effectively creating a working definition of the term `visitor attraction':

"It must be a permanently established excursion destination, a primary purpose of which is to allow public access for entertainment, interest or education; rather than being primarily a retail unit or a venue for sporting, theatrical or film performances. It must be open to the public without prior booking, for published periods each year, and should be capable of attracting day visitors or tourists, as well as local residents."

Types of Visitor Attraction

The main categories of visitor attraction are as follows:

Fun Attractions

attraction parks†

theme parks†

aquatic parks/waterparks†

recreation parks†

steam railways

piers

others (e.g. wax museums).

Wildlife Attractions

zoos†

wildlife/safari parks†

aquaria†.

Cultural Attractions

historic houses and monuments

cathedrals and churches

museums and galleries

science centres.

Other

gardens

country parks (free entry)

managed parks (charging admission)

visitor centres (e.g. agricultural, industrial and commercial work places)

events and exhibitions

miscellaneous attractions.

† — these attractions are collectively described as leisure parks, a term which includes a wide range of variations, from the attraction and theme parks which are sited and constructed to attract mass markets ('fun parks'), through to recreation parks which are oriented around the natural environment.

Attraction Parks

Attraction parks have been developed by promoters with a circus background, based on classic funfair attractions. Hence, features include, ghost trains, haunted houses, Ferris wheels, roller coasters, halls of mirrors and shooting galleries, etc., but these are normally supplemented by recent innovations such as shops, restaurant services.

Theme Parks

Theme parks have many of the features of attraction parks, but also incorporate branded elements based on a particular theme specific to the organisation. Hence, Futoroscope (Poitiers, France) is focused on the latest hi-tech developments, especially in the cinema, whilst Disneyland Paris and Efteling project an image based on children's stories or cartoon characters. Other parks have themes that range from miniature towns (Minidorm — Switzerland) to the Wild West (OK Corral, France; and Phantasialand, Germany). Again, cafés and restaurants, and in some cases, hotel facilities, are provided on the site.

Wildlife/Safari Parks

Safari parks range from genuine wildlife sanctuaries in Africa where animals are viewed in their natural environment, to traditional zoos. In Europe, safari parks normally represent a development of the zoo, since the animals featured are exotic, rather than local, species. One important variant of the safari park is the marine life attraction, such as Sea World in Florida.

Aquatic Parks

The basic element in an aquatic park is a pool. However, aquatic parks differ radically from conventional pools in that their purpose is not to provide facilities for training or competitive swimming, but to offer a range of facilities offering a focus for fun and adventure activities. As well as a leisure pool, additional features include waterslides, wave pools, flume rides, sprays, artificial beach areas, cafés and restaurants. Some centres cater for purely local needs and these would not warrant classification as visitor attractions under the ETC criteria, since they are not generally 'capable of attracting day visitors or tourists, as well as local residents'.

Recreation Parks

These can be further classified as:

recreation and leisure parks

recreation and sports parks

recreation and nature parks.

As with aquatic parks, some of these facilities serve mainly local urban or suburban markets and would not warrant classification as visitor attractions appealing to day visitors and tourists.

Availability of data

One of the most serious difficulties faced by those seeking to analyse the activities of the sector is a lack of reliable data. As reported in Panorama of European Business 1999, published by the European Commission:

"...although being a significant segment of the tourism industry, this sector lacks comprehensive statistical coverage, and practically no official statistics exist at the time of writing."

geographical coverage

This report is concerned primarily with visitor attractions located in the 15 member states of the EU, but reference is also made to attractions in Switzerland, Norway, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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