A German theme park is hosting a seminar on 21 May to help rollercoaster phobes overcome their fears. The team at Holiday Park in Hassloch say they are responding to requests from thrill ride fans who want their family and friends to share in their fun.

Rudi Mallasch, head of marketing at Holiday Park, says the seminar was inspired by the success of airline programmes, which have helped passengers deal with their fear of flying. He told Attractions Management: "You see a lot of people standing around in our park, when one is riding the coaster and the other is not - we just want to persuade them to ride. We want them to dare to try."

The first Holiday Park seminar is already oversubscribed, with 32 attendees signed up. The day will be led by psychologist, Marc-Roman Trautmann, from the German Centre for Fear of Flying. According to Mallasch, the event will also feature contributions from a leading cardiologist from the University Clinic Mannheim, as well as technical and safety briefings from the park's in-house staff. If all goes to plan, the day will culminate with the group riding on the park's flagship coaster, Expedition GeForce, voted the world's top steel coaster in the annual Internet Coaster Poll.

Mallasch says the Holiday Park team has been surprised by the range of seminar participants: there is a 50/50 split between men and women, with those signing up aged between 16 and 50 years.

He is confident that this will be the start of a series of seminars - usually limited to 28 participants (the number of seats in a coaster car on GeForce). The cost for a place at the seminar is 90 euros. Details: www.holidaypark.de