Research Commons
      • Browse 
        • Communities & Collections
        • Titles
        • Authors
        • By Issue Date
        • Subjects
        • Types
        • Series
      • Help 
        • About
        • Collection Policy
        • OA Mandate Guidelines
        • Guidelines FAQ
        • Contact Us
      • My Account 
        • Sign In
        • Register
      View Item 
      •   Research Commons
      • University of Waikato Research
      • Management
      • Management Papers
      • View Item
      •   Research Commons
      • University of Waikato Research
      • Management
      • Management Papers
      • View Item
      JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

      Return on roller coasters: A model to guide investments in theme park attractions

      van Oest, Rutger; van Heerde, Harald J.
      DOI
       10.1287/mksc.1090.0553
      Link
       mktsci.journal.informs.org
      Find in your library  
      Citation
      Export citation
      van Oest, R. & van Heerde, H.J. (2010). Return on roller coasters: A model to guide investments in theme park attractions. Marketing Science, 29(4), 721-737.
      Permanent Research Commons link: https://hdl.handle.net/10289/4605
      Abstract
      Despite the economic significance of the theme park industry and the huge investments needed to set up new attractions, no marketing models exist to guide these investment decisions. This study addresses this gap in the literature by estimating a response model for theme park attendance. The model not only determines the contribution of each attraction to attendance, but also how this contribution is distributed within and across years. The model accommodates saturation effects, which imply that the impact of a new attraction is smaller if similar attractions are already present. It also captures reinforcement effects, meaning that a new attraction may reinforce the drawing power of similar extant attractions, especially when these were introduced recently. The model is calibrated on 25 years of weekly attendance data from the Efteling, a leading European theme park. Our return on investment calculations show that it is more profitable to invest in multiple smaller attractions than in one big one. This finding is in remarkable contrast with the current "arms race" in the industry. Furthermore, even though thrill rides tend to be more effective than theme rides, there are conditions under which one should consider to switch to the latter.
      Date
      2010
      Type
      Journal Article
      Publisher
      INFORMS
      Collections
      • Management Papers [1135]
      Show full item record  

      Usage

       
       
       

      Usage Statistics

      For this itemFor all of Research Commons

      The University of Waikato - Te Whare Wānanga o WaikatoFeedback and RequestsCopyright and Legal Statement