Past and future of theme parks: customer experiences as a trump card

PhD ( in Economics; Professor; Research Center for Network Economy, Director; e-mail: ORCID ID:

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In the twenty-first century, tourism became an important and significant segment of many developed and transition economies. Just before the COVID-19 pandemic, the worldwide growth in tourist flows peaked. In many strategic assessments and forecasts, the basic premise was that the higher the share of inbound tourism in the country, the higher its economic prospects and its image in the international arena. Countries rich in beautiful and unique natural recreation attractions or with a great cultural heritage felt sure to profit from their popularity as tourist destinations. Moreover, there was an intensive discussion on the overtourism issues, as well as on the ways to optimize the loading of the most attractive destinations and to reduce the discomfort and discontent of local residents [22; 31].

The developments at the beginning of 2020 have shown how fragile the world economy is, especially the service sector. The world tourism industry collapsed so fast and crucially that there was real trouble for authorities to organize the return of citizens that were traveling abroad. Virtually all destinations are now unavailable for tourists. As a result, lots of industry actors are bankrupts or close to bankruptcy. Thus, in the U.S. a drop of 80% in 2020 is predicted [29], with the probable total losses of USD 24 billionl.

Nevertheless, life will take its own, as the past of human beings witnesses. China is a good example: this country was the first to enter the coronavirus crisis and the first to start an economic revival. As for the tourism industry in China, it was an object of government support, with a clear focus on domestic tourism, and there are interesting results worth mentioning. After the government removed quarantine measures, ticket orders have increased by 60%, as compared to the same period of the previous year. Moreover, there is evidence that equipment for active travel (backpacks, tents, etc.) turned out to be among the most sought goods ordered in online stores - in spite of the fact that options of active travel

• ¹    cnbc. com/2020/03/11/coronavirus-trave I- in-dustry-could-lose-24-billion-in-tourism-from-outsi-de-us.html (Accessed on April, 25, 2020)

previously were not among the preferred travel types in China.

So, the prospects of the tourism industry are not fully negative in the long run but the struggle for customers promises to be hard and uncompromising. It is important for every industry actor and every destination that is going to stay alive on the market to be alert and ready to meet the demand with adequate supply.

In the article, we will discuss the role of customer experiences provided by theme parks that are a special kind of tourist attraction forming a unique tourist product, which includes a range of entertaining and educational services. Thematic parks are parks created with a certain theme/concept that gives the park a unique characteristic and allow visitors to interpret its more specific function [10; 24].

The article structure is as follows. Firstly, we provide a brief literature review on the issues parks as tourism marketing objects, as well as visitors' experiences and customer loyalty in theme parks management. Secondly, we describe the development of theme parks in Russia and abroad. Thirdly, we discuss major trends that affect the future development of theme parks. In the final section, conclusions and suggestions for future research are provided.

Parks as tourist attractions: the crucial role of customer experiences

There are a huge number of different parks all over the world. Actually, any public space with recreational or other purposes can get this name, like research park [20] or wind park [36]. In our case, only parks as tourist attractions are in the focus of study. These parks are also very different depending on their purpose and function. At the same time, we can definitely state that all such parks have the aim to attract tourists can be defined as an "institution of pleasure" [11].

Amusement parks have this purpose directly, which follows from their name [15; 18]. As an example, Luna parks throughout their long history (the first amusement park with that name opened on Coney Island, New York, in 1903) directly performed their function to entertain visitors by immersing them "in the world of carefree childhood". That is, nobody "loaded" visitors with practically nothing other than visiting attractions, cafes, and restaurants, according to this specific "genre of pleasure place".2 This kind of simplified leisure is still attractive for a number of target audiences but the needs of contemporary tourists are usually much broader, so most amusement parks offer a different "organization of pleasure" than the sites of festival and leisure that had preceded it [11]. As a rule, each large amusement park is multifunctional, since "the constant desire for fun calls fora renewed and versatile portfolio of fun offer and for innovative forms of entertainment and recreation products" [27, p. 342].

Other types of parks may at first glance be far from this simple goal. However, no matter what park is a tourist destination, its target audience visits it for the sake of getting and emotions, though the experiences that bring pleasure may be significantly different.

As an example, the major aim of national parks and nature reserves is protecting nature, so they pay great attention to the efficient management of natural resources. However, many of them have developed are now involved in the operation of tours [13; 21] and are intended to create a more developed infrastructure that ensures conditions for tourists to relax. Since this may cause damage of nature resources by tourists, all national parks and natural reserves are highly cautious and usually offer a minimum level of service to tourists [12; 13]. At the same time, this is very attractive for eco-tourists: they go on routes to be alone, to escape from everyday life, to get physical activity, to enjoy fresh air, to be in a group of like-minded people, as well as for many other personal reasons. Therefore, from the tourist attractiveness point of view we can define natural parks as specific experiential contexts providing extraordinary and memorable experiences of high value for visitors [8; 19].

A number of recent research confirm that experiential elements are crucial factors in creating and maintaining successful and

• ²    In Russia, a specific type of amusement parks called Parks of culture and leisure is still widespread after the Soviet times. In some cases, there were successful attempts to activate the cultural component. However, these were mostly amusement parks for weekends.

profitable amusement parks. Therefore, the traditional park industry should focus intensely on consumers' experiential processes [16].

It is noteworthy that in the past decades the tourism attractions with a thematic character turned into increasingly more popular [9].

Theme parks in Russia and abroad

In the history of parks as tourist attractions, a special place belongs to theme parks. They have become serious competitors for traditional amusement parks that were no longer able to satisfy the ever-growing needs of tourists.

The global theme park industry has grown rapidly since the opening of Disneyland in Anaheim, California in 1955. Every year, the number of theme parks' visitors all over the world was growing rapidly, ahead of the same indicator for world-famous cultural and historical sights. By the end of 2010, about 189.1 million people had visited the top 25 theme parks worldwide [23].

There are various approaches to the Theme Park definition. One of the widely spread is that a theme park is a large leisure park with attractions, restaurants, hotels, and shops that provides its visitors with a wide range of entertainment, united by a common theme. Along with the amusement parks, this approach embraces oceanariums, zoos, dolphinariums, and other parks of all possible entertainments for children and adults. Another approach proposes to identify a number of specific features, distinguishing theme parks not only from other types of parks but also from all other leisure and entertainment facilities.

In any case, the basic characteristics of thematic parks include their function, location, and potential [24]. Belias et al. define theme parks as "special tourist infrastructure facilities located on demarcated land areas, inside or outside residential areas and offering a variety of services to visitors around one or more thematic axes" [6, p.77].

We take the approach articulated by Aleksandrova and Sedinkina [1] as the most applicable. They consider theme parks as places for entertainment, recreation, learning, and games based on certain criteria and differentiating them from other parks and recreational areas by the following features:

Table 1 - Тор-10 best world theme parks3

Park Name	Theme	Location	Parameters
			Total area, ha	Annual No. of visitors, mln	Tickets price	Foundation date
1. Magic Kingdom Park. Walt Disney World Park (disneyworld.disney.go.com)	Walt Disney cartoon characters	Florida, USA	34	Over 20,0	104-139 $	1971
2. Europa-Park (europapark.de)	Heroes of European fairy tales	Rust, Germany	90	Over 4,5	32-55 €	1975
3. Le Puy du Fou (puydufou.com)	Historical event	Les Epesses, France	55	Over 2,0	62-116 €	1977
4. PortAventura Park (portaventuraworld.com)	Mediterrania, Far West, Mexico, China and Polynesia, Sesame Street, Ferrari Land	Salou, Spain	117	Over 3,5	60-109 €	1995
5. Hangzhou SongchengPark (ongcn.com/SongScenic_en/ About)	Culture of the Song dynasty	Hangzhou, China	250	Over 10,0	80-180 yuan	-
6. Paultons Park - Home of Peppa Pig World (paultonspark.co.uk)	Peppa Pig cartoon characters	Romsey, England	57	Over 8,0	90-120 $	2018
7. Legoland Billund (legoland.dk)	«LEGO»	Billund, Denmark	14	Over 15,0	300-600 DKK	1968
8. Playmobil Fun Park (playmobil-funpark.de)	«PLAYMOBIL»	Zirndorf, Germany	90	Over 9,0	10-80 €	1991
9. Sochi Park (sochipark.ru)	Heroes of Russian folktales	Sochi, Russia	20,5	Over 3,0	1300-2000 rubles	2014
10. Universal Studio Park (Universal Studio (usj.co.jp)	Hollywood, Harry Potter, Marvel comics, Minions, Jurassic Park	Osaka, Japan	54	Over 11,0	4700-6800 yen	2001

• -    a thematic identity;

• -    two or more thematic zones;

• -    a sufficient number of attractions to visit;

• -    great potential for attracting families;

• -    commercial basis;

• -    high-quality services;

• -    organized in a confined space and with controlled access;

• -    centralized management of production and consumption processes.

In the Table 2, there is a list of Top-10 best world theme parks. It is noteworthy that all ten parks have all the specific features listed above, including Sochi Park taking the ninth place among Top-10.

Still, there is a gap in theme parks development as compared to many other countries. The main cause is that in the post-Soviet period, most parks in Russia were out of the focus of local and federal authorities and received almost no funding. That was a need to survive, not the time to think about bright thematic coloring.

Nowadays, there is a growing number of parks functioning as tourist attractions in Russia. Since there is no overall statistics, Table 1 presents the results of our assessment, based on available open sources4.

Table 2 - The number of different park types in Russia as of01/01/2020^

Park Type	Number of parks	Approximate expenses for annual maintenance, mln. Rub.
Amusement parks, water parks, luna parks	2243	6.5
Parks for sports/ fitness	148	120.0
Thematic parks	32	8.3
Parks for culture and leisure	317	250.0
Ethnographic Museum Parks	75	12.0
Zoos	36	42.0
Exhibition parks	35	18.0
Botanical gardens/ parks	46	270.0
Arboretums	27	350.0
National / natural parks	62	6000.0
Safari parks	5	240.0
Forest parks	24	3.5
Water parks	1	7.3

Figure 1 shows that there is a direct proportion between the cost of creating a tourism product in a certain park type and the number of such parks, though one should also take into account some other factors. As an example, the rest of the historic network of parks for culture and leisure that were numerous in the Soviet time6 still serves as a cause of such parks' relative abundance in contemporary Russia.

Assessments of the market size and consumer preferences for amusement parks in Russia are as follows: the market size amounted to 8.68 billion rubles in 2016, and the main factor of the consumer choice was the proximity of park location [14]. That means that this market is at the early stage, and Russian consumers are not yet too sophisticated and demanding to amusement parks' services. Proximity of a theme park can be an important factor of consumer loyalty, especially for urban parks, but is not the only factor if there is enough places for choice [7]. Widyahantari and Rudiarto also underline that proximity distance is not only the main reason for visiting a park but also influenced by attractiveness and the suitability of the theme with the local community's characteristics [35].

So far, only Sochi Park and Zaryadye Park in Moscow are able to compete successfully at the international level. It will take some time to develop a sufficient number of worldclass theme parks in Russia. At the same time, the pause in the theme parks functioning due to the COVID-19 pandemic is not only a danger of bankruptcy but also a chance to study best management practices in order to find better starting points for post-pandemic competition in the market.

As a rule, each large theme park is multifunctional, but with a pronounced artistic and figurative orientation. A number of studies conducted in different countries confirm that physical setting, interaction with staff, as well as interaction with other customers, have a significant impact on theme park visitors' delight and satisfaction, and finally on park visitors' loyalty [2]. Highly important are emotional factors and the need to share experiences with friends and/ or family [3; 33]. Kao et al. indicate that immersion, surprise, participation, and fun are four important experiential qualities

Park" "; Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of November 28, 2019 No. 1527 "On the transformation of the state natural reserve" Pillars "into the national park" Krasnoyarsk Pillars '"'; Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 07.12.2019 No. 1607 "On the creation of the national park "Koygorodsky""; Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 10, 2019 No. 1632 "On the transformation of the Gydansky State Nature Reserve into the Gydansky National Park"; Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December20, 2019 No. 1735 "On the Creation of the Tokinsko-Stanovoy National

Number of parks in Russia

Figure 1 - Approximated costs of creating tourism product for different park types in Russia

for satisfaction and loyalty intentions [16]. Therefore, theme parks are in search of new ways to enhance experiential elements that create positive customer emotions and thus are attractive for their target audiences.

Future of theme parks: new experiences and new technologies

One of the contemporary trends in theme parks' development is the search for effective combinations with new elements from different park types.

A successful example of combining a national and theme park is Jiuzhaigou National Park (China). Jiuzhaigou National Park is among the top seven most beautiful national parks in China.7 Tourists admit as the most attractive feature of this park the opportunity to go along routes with almost untouched nature and at the same time plunge into various Chinese legends and see historical places storing secrets of the ancient civilization. This combination serves as the basis for the development of individual routes as thematically oriented tourist products.

Networking is also an important trend in the industry, both in terms of collaborative relationships with park stakeholders and in terms of building networks of parks under a single brand. Building a network of mutually beneficial relationships between different theme park stakeholders helps to implement complex transactions specific to the tourism and hospitality industry, to neutralize potential weaknesses and weaknesses of individual participants, to reduce costs in joint centralized procurement and marketing campaigns, to use joint customer base (CRM) to customize tourist product and develop loyalty programs [4; 5]. Building a network of theme parks under a single brand is in line with the overall trend in tourism and hospitality [4; 28]. The biggest theme park network is the 12 Disney Theme Parks around the world. The main positive effects of this strategy are economies of scale, providing a guaranteed level of service through common standards, transfer of knowledge and best practices, single positioning that leads to increased awareness [30].

Another contemporary trend is due to the increasingly diverse interests of tourists, more and more noticeably divided into many specific target audiences. Meeting their special needs pushes the creation of new theme parks (Table 3). Some of them are quite unusual but this constitutes specific customer value and thus attracts enough tourist flow.

Of course, everything has its limits when you try to evoke new and amazing tourist experiences. One can recall a well-known joke: no one doubts that the impressive explosion of the Yellowstone volcano can raise the park to the pinnacle of worldwide fame and appeal - but it will immediately put an end to visiting it by tourists.

Table 3 - To p-10 unusual world theme parks8

Title	Thematic focus/orient	Location
1. Holy Land Experience	The theme park is dedicated to presenting the Bible events in various forms: dramatic reconstructions, flash mob actions, models of biblical cities, educational seminars led by various scholars and theologians, etc.	Orlando, Florida, USA
2. Memory Village	Founded by Ron and Carla Bluntschli from Haiti, the park provides people with experience what it feels like to be a slave. Visitors receive clothing, food, and a one-day slave life experience, which then ends in rebellion.	Honolulu, Haiti
3. Dwarf Empire	In this park in Southern China people of small stature are the major actors who are presenting sing and dance shows for visitors.	Kunming, China
4. Children's Republic	This child-sized theme park is a product of the Eva Peron Foundation. The Venetian Bank, the Indian Palace of Culture, the medieval church, the fire department - all in all thirty-two buildings with recognizable architecture from around the world are built to the size of ten-year-old children.	La Plata, Argentina
5. World Joyland	This park is the world of computer games and Starcraft. The park visitors can find the orc villages of Azeroth, are able to take part in battles with aliens among the stars, or in travels on popular missions of computer games.	Changzhou, China
6. Suoi Tien Park	In this park, religious buildings and sculptures, the figures of emperors, dragons, and characters from Buddhism are combined with carousels, a zoo, a crocodile farm, a cinema, an aqua park, etc.	Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
7. Tierra Santa	Inthis park, visitors can see biblical characters in a Middle East setting. One of the most impressive installations is the 12-meter-tall mechanical «resurrecting» Jesus rising above Calvary every hour.	Buenos Aires, Argentina
8. BonBon-Land	In this park, there are unusual rides and statues such as an evil rat or a pissing dog. The kids like them because they often eat sweets produced by the local confectionery factory in the form of animal figures in unusual poses and situations.	Holmegaard, Denmark
9. Love Land	The park is a popular destination for honeymooners, "teaching them to love each other".	Cheju Island, South Korea
10. Sanrio Puroland	This pair of theme parks is dedicated to the Hello Kitty character. Puroland offers indoor entertainment, while Harmony Land offers outdoor activities, including costume dances, theater performances, attractions, restaurants, and souvenirs.	Tokio, Japan

At the same time, there is a quite safe opportunity to have any emotions associated with disasters and other events that are too dangerous or impossible in ordinary life. It is possible due to the fast development of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies that have become a new round of digital technologies, with important consequences for international competitiveness in the tourism and entertainment industry [26; 32; 34].

That is why there is a distinct trend to apply VR/AR technologies in traditional

• ⁸    Source:developedbytheauthorsbasedonbugaga. ru/interesting/1146766997-top-25-ochen-stran-nye-tematicheskie-parki.html and kulturologia.ru/ blogs/210816/31000/

theme parks [17]. As an example, Walt Disney Imagineering and Disney Research Zurich are building a projector-camera toolbox to help create spatially augmented 3D objects and dynamic, interactive spaces that enhance the theme park experience by immersing guests in magical worlds [25].

Moreover, there is also a growing number of VR parks. Some of them are already quite famous (Table 4) and especially attractive for the Millennials and the Gen Z (iGeneration) from large cities of the USA, Europe, Southeast Asia with higher than average income, addicted to computer games, active users of the Internet, social networks, and smartphones.

Table 4 - Тор-5 World VR Park and VR Zones9

Title	Thematic focus	Location / year
1. Oriental Science Fiction Valley	virtual races, trips with aliens to the most colorful places in the country, bungee jumping, mounted on a giant robot (35 VR attractions)	Guizhou, China 2016
2. VR Park Tokyo	ability to dive into extreme adventures, amazing worlds and fantastic universes (11 VR attractions)	Tokio, Japan 2016
3. VR Zone Shinjuku	auto racing, downhill skiing, mountain climbing, horror, puzzles, battle with monsters, fishing, virtual cafe (13 VR attractions)	Tokio, Japan 2017
4. VR Park Dubai	skydivingfrom a plane flying over the city, racing on aerial drones, multiplayer shooters and winter sports, two-level spaces for parkour (20 VR attractions)	Dubai, United Arab Emirates 2017
5. VR Park Samsung 837	Simulations of NASA space missions - Moon for All Mankind. Effect of real gravity, the complete illusion of walking on the lunar surface	New-York, USA 2018

Visitors of VR parks, as is stated at the site of the VOID VR Park, can "step beyond their reality into any one of an infinity of possibilities: places where dreams and nightmares have substance, hopes and fears can be touched and worlds without number await to be experienced and explored".10 Such parks, equipped with special rooms and powerful platforms full of special effects for playing in virtual reality, give their visitors a "feeling of presence". As a result, "this VR experience is the factor that's driving their overall satisfaction, intent to revisit and to recommend the theme park to their friends and families" [26, p.289].

All these trends open quite interesting prospects for Russian tourism and entertainment industry. For example, Russian national parks can develop a tourist product that does not damage the core natural objects by highlighting thematic zones and routes connected by thoroughly elaborated interpretations bridging nature and history, culture, or legendary local points of interest.

As for the experience of using such technologies in Russia, there is still a gap in this area but the growth rate of the Russian market for VR/AR technology is very high [32], and the main area of application of VR/ AR technologies in Russia is entertainment. Therefore, the idea of developing thematic VR parks looks not too ambitious or impossible to realize in Russia. This is a promising avenue also in the light of problems arisen in the tourism industry due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Conclusions and future research

Our study confirms the role of customer experiences as a trump card for the successful development and functioning of theme parks. To provide the experiences that lead to customer satisfaction and loyalty, theme park management have to ensure good quality of all services, not only entertainment part of the tourist product, but with a pronounced theme orientation. There are many components to take into account, including physical setting, collaborative interaction with all park stakeholders, understanding of target audience needs and interests, emotional aspects of customer perception, as well as profitability considerations.

Major trends that affect the future development of theme parks are as follows:

• -    search for effective combinations with new elements from different park types;

• -    networking, both in terms of collaborative relationships with park stakeholders and in terms of building networks of parks under a single brand;

• -    creation of unusual theme parks that meet the specific interests of niche tourists audiences;

• -    increased use of VR/AR technologies in traditional theme parks, and a growing number of VR parks highly attractive for young generations.

The analysis of the Russian market shows path dependence in terms of specific market structure inherited after the USSR and the consequences of the general tourism and hospitality industry collapse in the early post-Soviet period. At present, the market is suffering one more collapse caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Being in the same difficult situation as all theme parks in other countries, Russian theme parks can reduce the backlog if they use the pause to analyze better international examples as a benchmark and try to ride new directions and niches.