New Legoland Attractions Another Feather in Merlin’s Cap
The parent company of Legoland California, Britain-based Merlin Entertainments Group, reported 2008 attendance at its 57 attractions worldwide rose 28 percent from the year before to reach 35.1 million. The announcement came in early May.
Merlin doesn? break out individual theme parks, but Legoland? officials said the 10-year-old, 128-acre park with 50 rides, shows and attractions had a higher gate count last year than in 2007.
Referring to its target customer ?parents with children ages 2 to 12 ?and the fact that disposable spending is down in general, Legoland California? General Manager Peter Ronchetti said the park feels ?ortunate families are still taking time to spend those early years with their children here.?p>Its Land of Adventure area is expanding this summer with ?une Raiders.?Scheduled to open June 25, the new Egyptian bazaar-themed, 30-foot-high attraction will feature six side-by-side slides with 50-foot-long racing lanes.
During the Memorial Day weekend beginning May 23, Legoland? Sea Life Aquarium plans to open a new exhibit, ?harks Revealed,?designed to introduce children to those misunderstood creatures of the deep with an up-close-and-personal look at their life cycle and evolution.
Aside from its attractions and theme parks, Merlin Entertainments owns six hotels and is ranked as the world? second largest visitor attraction operator behind Disney.
Visitors Bureau Takes Tourism In New Directions: During its annual outlook meeting at the beginning of May, the San Diego North Convention & Visitors Bureau said that visitor spending in the northern portion of the county amounted to $1.7 billion of the $7.9 billion countywide last year. Both figures were flat in comparison to the year before.
The bureau provides visitor information for communities and cities from La Jolla north to Oceanside and east to Escondido, Julian and the Anza-Borrego Desert.
While leisure travel and visitor spending for 2009 are expected to decline, Bob Rauch, the bureau? vice chairman, and member Janet Beronio stressed the importance of keeping the pulse of emerging niche markets to secure group business, the hardest hit category during the current recessionary economy. That includes such sectors as medical devices, eye care, anti-aging products, health food and pet care, they said.
On the plus side, declining gasoline prices have spurred interest in road trips, and the North County bureau is responding to that trend by targeting online marketing efforts to Orange County, Los Angeles and Phoenix that have traditionally supplied visitors in high numbers, particularly in the summertime.
The bureau is also focusing its online media campaign at such trends as green travel, outdoor recreation and visitors seeking cultural experiences.
According to Cami Mattson, the bureau? president and CEO, the region? ability to be a continual tourism draw lies in relaying the message that it provides ?alue-driven and experience-rich opportunities.?
