Over 60 operating attractions on display for professionals only
Andrea Lucchetta, the creator of a successful toy library, visits the show
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS: NEW IDEAS FOR TOURISM IN CITIES
In 2007 in Milan a high-tech panoramic tower worth 5 million Euros
NEW TRENDS AND SAFETY IN FUN PARKS TOMORROW IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Increasingly thrilling and increasingly interactive: the future of the amusement industry will be on stage for three days at Fiera di Genova, starting today and until
Saturday 28 October, during the
second TECHNOFOLIES, the trade fair where leading Italian and foreign manufacturers from the amusement industry meet sector operators to present their new range of products for 2007. Thanks to over 60 operating attractions, Technofolies is the most awaited event in Europe, where market trends and changes can be experienced first-hand.
Thrill rides that can be hair-raising even for the bravest ones, but also funny and harmless huge inflatable cats, and evergreen attractions like merry-go-rounds with horses and bumper cars, as well as simulators capable of recreating more and more realistic environments. Among today’s visiting operators, Andrea Lucchetta, one of Italy’s most loved volleyball champions of all times and the creator of Oplà, a toy library in Modena where he shares his smile and inextinguishable passion for playing with children aged 0 to 14 years – 25 thousand of them every year.
Politicians, journalists, and representatives of the industrial and university sectors met this morning at the round table organised by Facto Edizioni to discuss the issue of tourist attractions, a subject that has been largely debated over the last few months. Many tourist resorts wishing to offer their visitors an increasingly wide range of services and opportunities have recently started to install impressive, catchy attractions. According to
Giorgio Conti, from the Department of Environmental Sciences of Venice Ca’ Foscari University, ‘destination’ tourism has recently evolved into what could be defined as
‘motivation’ tourism. In this latter case, tourist attractions play a crucial role, and this could lead to an epoch-making change in the near future: it will no longer be shows that move from place to place, but, rather, users that travel looking for the most involving and interesting attractions.
Tourist attractions can already be found in both already
famous cities, like Paris – which, thanks to its unique cultural role and magnificent monuments, is the number-one destination in the world – and totally ‘artificial’ locations, like Las Vegas (ranking second), which can nonetheless boast a tourist flow of 33 million visitors a year. Bodeline attractions are not a new, contemporary phenomenon, but, rather, stem from a long-lasting trend, as confirmed by the Prater panoramic wheel in Vienna or the Eiffel Tower itself: special attractions built and installed to celebrate a historic event or moment which have naturally evolved into major rides and have led to the production of increasingly scenic and sophisticated attractions.
A turnaround in the general trend has been recorded over the last few years, with the comeback of installations which are simpler and less expensive, yet extremely exciting for the public. From the end of the 19th century to date the success of panoramic wheels has never seemed to be short-lived at all. Starting in the year 2000, a competition has been going on among international capital cities to boast the largest panoramic wheel. Suffice it to think of the London Eye, 135 m high and featuring 32 hi-tech cabins which ensure a 360° view over the city. In Moscow, Pax have designed a 200 m high wheel, and many others wheels are being built in Shanghai, Melbourne, Singapore. The cities that cannot compete in terms of height bet on specific themes or historical reproductions to make sure their own attraction allows them to stand out and be universally recognised. Originality and creativity get to the point of proposing pretty unique initiatives: Vienna’s panoramic wheel, for example, offers some cabins for private receptions and parties, while the above-mentioned London Eye includes a special cabin for weddings. Italy too is falling prey to the charm of panoramic wheels. In Milan, Fulvio Pelucchi is the promoter of “Wonder Wheel”, a project, to be implemented in 2007, for the construction of a 70m wheel with air conditioning, plasma screens and synchronised virtual tour, which will be installed in Parco Sempione in Milan, behind the Sforza Castle. One of the supporters of this initiative is Vittorio Sgarbi, Milan’s City Councillor for Culture. The final goal is to offer both Milanese and tourists alike a new view on the city’s monuments and palaces.
Installing a panoramic wheel has many advantages. First of all, a
wheel can reach a very large public, it does not leave out any age group, and is accessible by differently able people too. Moreover, from an aesthetic-architectural viewpoint, a wheel does not ‘spoil’ the surrounding landscape, though it can be easily seen from afar and is, therefore, self-advertising. Last but not least, panoramic wheels do not result in acoustic or environmental pollution. There are currently three leading companies manufacturing panoramic wheels: the Swiss Ronald Bussink Professional Rides, which over the last 15 years has produced more than 60 wheels having diameters up to 210 m; Russia-based Pax Company; and Intamin Rides, with headquarters in Liechtenstein.
Panoramic towers, just like wheels, include different types of attractions, from panoramic terraces to revolving towers, all the way to free-fall towers.
Las Vegas has led the way to another trend which has evolved over the last few years:
the use of roller coasters and other thrill rides to attract tourists and persuade them to stay longer. The famous hotel-casino New York New York is proposing the Manhattan Express, a roller coaster with loops and U-turns, capable of exceeding a speed of 100 km/h, while the Sahara has built Speed, a launch coaster exceeding 112 km/h.
An extreme reality like the one in Las Vegas can, however, look kitsch to a demanding and refined target. This is the reason why an
increasing number of cities is currently turning to complex, selective and expensive attractions like the IMAX centres or the 4D or 5D multi-sensory centres, which allow the public to discover the latest frontiers in technology and are therefore becoming constant features in tourist itineraries.
Today in the afternoon a meeting will be held on the agreement signed by ANCI - Association of Italian Municipalities – and ANESV-AGIS, the Italian association of travelling fairs and amusement parks operators (a specific press release will be issued). The meeting will focus on economic and tax incentives and the need for fixed and travelling fun parks to play a more vital role in cities and in city life.
Tomorrow events
Tomorrow at 11.00 a.m., conference on new trends, organised by Parksmania and, at the same time, ANESV national meeting to appoint the new Board.
At 2.00 p.m. Unionparchi national meeting followed by a meeting on safety in amusement parks.
TECHNOFOLIES is organized by
Fiera di Genova and promoted by
ANCASVI (the Italian Association of Travelling Fairgrounds Equipment Manufacturers) and by
AiCE (Amusement
Industry Council of Europe) under the aegis of
ANESV-AGIS (the Italian Association of Travelling Fairgrounds and Amusement Parks Operators, founder of the Italian Show Business Association),
Unionparchi, and the Italian Ministry for Economic Development.
Facto Edizioni will be the organisation and commercial consultant for the event.
Opening hours and admittanceTomorrow, Friday 27 October 2006, Technofolies will be open from 10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m., on Saturday 28 October from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. Technofolies is open to sector operators only. The one-day ticket costs 10.00 €, the multi-day ticket costs 15.00 €.
Info: Fiera di Genova tel. +39 010 53911
www.technofolies.itFiera di Genova Press Office
Tel. +39 010 5391 394 – 211
stampa@fiera.ge.it ;
giusi.feleppa@fiera.ge.itOctober 2006
