Germany is still the #1 funfair country in the world. Yet the future of the "volksfest", which was recognised as a cultural asset by German parliament in 2000, is uncertain. Many funfair events are on the brink of collapse. The tense situation is (...) read more
Scott Ault was appointed as the new COO (Chief Operating Officer) following the death of the former COO, Jim Warren, who died from cancer at the age of 59. Ault has been working for BRC since 1994 – he was the Vice President and is best known for (...) read more
The private equity branch has had to contend with its repeated characterisation as a plague in the public sphere and has taken note of criticism in a recent study by Moody’s, the world’s leading rating agency. At the heart of the criticism was the (...) read more
According to reports from finanznachrichten.de, SnowWorld is planning to go public on the Amsterdam stock exchange later this year. The company runs two indoor ski slopes in Zoetermeer (near The Hague) and in Landgraaf (near Aachen). The indoor ski (...) read more
Bad Frankenhausen: Fantasy Theme Park “Weltentor”Bad Frankenhausen and its surroundings in the state of Thuringia, Germany were the scene of some of the most brutal fighting during the Peasants’ Wars in Thuringia in the mid 19th century. This (...) read more
The "Blue Dome", which opened at Lake Wolfgang in mid-2006 (we presented this project to readers in EAP issue 4/2006), has not been able to fulfil its own visitor expectations. Instead of the estimated 100,000 visitors, only 50,000 people came to (...) read more
The AWC AG, SMG Entertainment Deutschland GmbH and the regional capital Kiel have co-signed a contract for the collaborative development, construction and operation of the Maritime Science Centre Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel. A science and adventure (...) read more
Nick Farmer of Farmer Attraction Development, based in Leicester, UK, has recently been elected as the next president of TEA (Themed Entertainment Association). Farmer is the first European president of the organisation based in Burbank, California. (...) read more
SmartUs is a new technological entertainment/learning concept from the Lappset Group (as previously reported in EAP 6/2005). Dortmund is the first German city to implement this revolutionary playground concept outdoors. SmartUs presents children (...) read more
As though it had fallen from the sky, Majorca’s wackiest house stands upside down in the centre of Magaluf. The Tibetan style “House of Katmandu” invites visitors to participate in interactive adventures. Here they can listen to stories about the (...) read more
Mullewapp, the character from the children’s books by author and illustrator Helme Heine, has been brought to life in a new children’s play paradise at the Erlebnis Zoo Hannover (Hanover adventure zoo). The attraction is to be opened on the 21st of (...) read more
Holiday makers can look forward to 90 luxury beach-side holiday homes in the Baltic spa town of Travemünde: Landal GreenParks is set to open the Landal Travemünde holiday park on the 3rd of August 2007. (eap) read more
BBC News reports that the private equity firm Blackstone has sold off their property assets of some of its Tussauds theme parks to entrepreneur Nick Laslau. Blackstone acquired the Tussauds Group and merged it with its own Merlin Entertainments (...) read more
According to information from Centropolitan, a new spa is to be built on the Austrian-Czech border between Valtice in Southern Moravia and Schrattenberg in Lower Austria, at a cost of 70 million euros. It will be located on a 12-hectare site (...) read more
Last year’s visitor numbers make the Cedar Fair Group the fourth largest operator of Theme- and Waterparks in the world. It was only in June 2006 that Cedar Fair bought Paramount Parks for around 1.2 billion USD (as reported in EAP). The New York (...) read more
Following the authorisation by the EU competition authorities, the fusion announced in March between Merlin Entertainments Group and The Tussauds Group was completed on the 22nd of May 2007. This consolidation formed the second largest operator of (...) read more
X-GARDEN, a family centre specially geared to the needs of children and women, will be opening this September. Women and kids, the centre point of the concept, can indulge themselves at the 10,000-sqm large facility – a combination of shopping, (...) read more
On the 25th of May 2007, “Dickens World” in Chatham, just southeast of London, opened its doors. The theme park is housed in a specially constructed building where the characters from Dickens’ (1812-1870) books and era come to life: The orphan (...) read more
With the purchase of an 11-square kilometre site with a number of old buildings, a medieval castle, a hotel, 18-hole golf course and meadows, TUI is planning the largest tourism project in Tuscany and in the company’s history. For this unique (...) read more
Last year saw the inauguration of the “Fisser Flieger” in the Möser alp, which we covered in detail in issue 5/2006. This summer funpark on a mountain plateau 2,000 metres above sea level is to acquire another attraction in mid-July: Skyswing (...) read more
