A report by Mintel Oxygen - Theme Parks - UK - February 2010 - reveals that the theme park industry not only enjoyed two years of solid growth in 2008 and 2009 but is actually benefiting from the economic recession.

A key factor is said to have been the more straitened financial circumstances of many consumers. A lot of visitors who might otherwise have travelled abroad decided to have a 'staycation' at home and take more day trips, short breaks and even their main holiday in the UK.

The weakness of the pound has also helped, encouraging inbound tourism which has benefited the parks around London where most of such tourists tend to spend their time.

According to the report, park operators have also made sustained and consistent investment in new rides, attractions and areas, often breaking the usual two to three year investment cycle by adding something new every year. The strategy seems to be working - figures show that of the adults who visited a theme park in 2009 - a quarter of all adults in the UK - 88 per cent were returning visitors.

Between 2004 and 2009, theme park revenues rose by 27 per cent, while admissions increased by 12 per cent.

In 2009 the theme parks market was revealed to have grown by 2.4 per cent to £315m (€347m, US$476.7m), with admissions growing by more than 3 per cent to almost 14 million.

Average spend per head rose by almost 13 per cent, attributed mainly to increased in-park spending but also to a higher spend on premium ticketing or virtual queueing options by people keen to avoid having to join a physical queue for a ride.

The survey also shows that key to attracting visitors in the first place are convenience and affordability, this including self check-in with tickets pre-printed at home, avoiding queues and enjoying discounted accommodation and/or travel deals.

Pic © The LEGO Group