One-day Outings Gaining Widespread Prominence in Recent Times

Arun holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Ramaiah Institute of Technology and Swinburne University of Technology, respectively. With profound experience in designing, building and operating amusement/theme parks, he has been associated with Wonderla Holidays for over two decades now and has played a significant role in the company’s success story so far.

Siliconindia recently got a chance to interact with Arun K Chittilapilly, Managing Director, Wonderla Holidays,wherein he shared in inputs about the current amusement park and one-day outings market in India and many other aspects pertaining to the industry. Below are the excerpts from the exclusive interview

What are your thoughts on the current amusement parks and single day outings market in India?

The market is still at a very nascent stage in India due to very less number of players currently operating in the industry. Currently, there are only around 150 amusement parks across India, which is a very small number considering the massive population it is home to and the vast geographical area it comprises of. One day outings too is a growing trend, wherein post Covid, people are increasingly opting for short & more affordable breaks instead of longer, high budget vacations. 

How is technology reshaping the amusement parks and single day outings market?

Technology is playing a crucial role across all industries in recent times. As for our industry, technology has now made it very easy for us to identify our target customers and formulate marketing strategies as per their preferences. Thus, we are able to provide more discounts/offers and enhance the demand. This has been a major enabler for smaller players in the market to successfully compete with established companies.

Yet another aspect is the enhanced customer experience levels that we are able to achieve by leveraging latest online technologies & trends such as social media, communication tools and many others. This has not only enabled the companies to have a hassle-free connect with their customers, but also efficiently maintain their brand repute in the market.

Preview of locations, activities and experiences is another major feature that has only been possible now due to advancements in technology. People wanting to participate in any activities, or visit any particular location are able to virtually experience it through technologies like AR/VR, thus enabling the customers to easily make decisions pertaining to their choice of leisure activities.

Single day outings being a very time-sensitive segment, how can companies ensure 100 percent customer satisfaction?

Technology has indeed helped every company to improve their ratings, which is of utmost importance in today’s times where people are concerned about reviews & ratings more than ever before. As a result, online reputation management has become one of the most critical aspect of every business in our industry. This is especially true for small businesses or companies engaged in one-day outings to build a name for themselves in the market. Since the reviews and ratings are mostly opensource and can be expressed freely online, customer satisfaction is paramount and cannot be compromised on if a business has to succeed.

Tell us about some of the security measures, guidelines and regulations amusement parks must undertake to ensure the safety of the visitors?

It is a must for every amusement park to have thorough safety checks and balance systems in place to ensure no mishaps occur with the visitors. Since there are a lot of large machines involved in the process, that too being mostly operated by humans, there is always a chance of human error or machine failure. Thus, it is very important to have a thoroughly trained team, along with periodic maintenance and repair of all the machines. Also, another major aspect that most of the times is overlooked at amusement parks in the cleanliness and hygiene factor. We at Wonderla have a ‘No Compromise’ attitude towards the safety and hygiene aspects, and this enabled to have a very strong reputation in the market.

5. In your opinion, how do you expect thee single day outing space to evolve in the days to come?

Single day are only going to grow in terms if demand majorly because of two reasons – advent of technology, and people becoming increasingly busier and lacking time for long duration breaks/vacations. Also, it is very much easier for people to plan a single day outing without much planning and also offers the flexibility of taking a short break from their regular lived at their preferred time.

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