ith the holiday season nearing, amusement park Wonderla has plans to add new attractions at Hyderabad. This year, it will invest about Rs 20 crore and follow it up with another Rs 10 to 15 crore the next year to add more facilities. Among others, it has plans to add new restaurants and also a resort here, tells Arun K Chittilappilly, managing director of Wonderla Amusement Parks & Resort, to B Krishna Mohan. Excerpts
On Hyderabad expansion
In Hyderabad, we are adding about three or four attractions before the end of this year. Some have already been added and some are still being added. Additional water rides are being added to serve in the peak season. We have expanded the waterparks since last year. A lot of new F&B offerings and restaurants and retail items are getting added in Hyderabad and will take a year to complete. We are working to add new restaurants this year. Next year, we aim to enhance the experience by adding a resort. This follows our success in launching a resort at Bengaluru. In the current financial year, we're allocating approximately Rs 20 crore, and for the upcoming year, we anticipate a further spending of around Rs 10 to 15 crore on new attractions.
Target segments
We are looking at group bookings, including schools, colleges, and corporate. These constitute nearly 30 per cent of our footfalls. When accommodating groups, we provide discounts and also cater to specific requests, such as special buffets or hosting events on our premises.
Peak seasons
In terms of peak seasons, April, May, and June, along with October, November, and December, are the busiest months. On the other hand, July, August, September, and January are comparatively lower in terms of visitor numbers. February and March see a decline due to children having exams. Post-Covid, there is a noticeable preference for experiential spending over material purchases, emphasising quality time with loved ones. There is a spurt in domestic air travel. This will mean that travellers will look for new options. We follow global guidelines for safety and maintenance
Other plans
In Bengaluru, we are spending close to Rs 35 - 40 crore on some new attractions including virtual reality. Upgrades are also happening in Kochi. We will add in water slides and two other attractions. We receive approximately 3 million footfalls per park annually, with notable growth last year. The addition of new attractions and a revised strategy position us for continued growth in the upcoming year.
New parks
We are planning a park in Bhubaneshwar with about Rs 150-170 crore investment to cater to about 2,000 visitors per day. It will have a roller coaster that is imported from Germany. This will open in 2024. Our last park was opened in Hyderabad in 2016. We also have a plan for a larger park in Chennai with an investment of about Rs 450- 500 crore. This will cater to about 6,000-8,000 visitors. Chennai will have India's biggest roller coaster. It will be opened in 2025. Wonderla is embarking on its first simultaneous construction of two amusement parks, a departure from its previous single-project approach. Next year, Wonderla plans to unveil an adventure park as part of a resort upgrade, investing Rs 50-60 crore in enhancement. Following the upgrade, the resort will have a capacity to host events for up to 1,200 people.
We have Chandigarh Mohali, NCR, Goa, and Ahmedabad on our list.
Key contributors
Approximately 70 per cent of our current revenue is derived from ticket sales, while the remaining 30% encompasses all non-ticket resort-related sources. We ensure continuous upgrades in our parks and introduce new elements like virtual reality rides, family attractions, and water rides regularly to engage with visitors of different ages and interests. Age group 12 to 24 is a significant contributor of revenues. Next is older adults or parents, in the 30- 34 years old, accounting for about 15% of the total visitors. Individuals aged 40 and above constitute around 10 per cent of the visitors. They tend to spend more time in the water park or in restaurants. Visitors aged above 50 plus and below 4 are minimal.
