In September Stijn and Robbert traveled across the Pond to attend and present at the IAAPA Europe Expo, the biggest gathering for the amusement parks and attractions industry in Europe. With COVID now being in the rear-view mirror and people increasingly seeking for escapism and ways of spending quality time with loved ones, the message in London was clear: “Our industry is resilient. We help each other. We bring happiness.”
Moments we particularly enjoyed include:
Speaking at the Indoor Entertainment Day
We joined indoor park operators, owners of family entertainment centers and suppliers for an off-site specifically designed for indoor facilities. We joined a line-up of speakers on topics such as IP and the Metaverse and were happy to share our insights on integrated crisis management for small organisations. Site visits to several attractions such as Nickelodeon Lakeside Adventure and Puttshack topped off a great first day.
Walking around the trade show floor
During the expo London’s ExCel convention center was transformed to a mini amusement park. Rides, games, snacks, live entertainment… Whatever you can possibly image, you’d find it here. It only takes a quick walk around to realise the creativity and scale of the industry!
Presenting at the EDU Conference
Joined by Walibi Belgium’s Justien Dewil, we shared insights on crisis communications and applied our ideas to the case of the devastating floods in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands in 2021, which caused severe damage to the Walibi park in Wavre as well. Huge thanks to Justien for sharing the story with us. IAAPA members can stream our session on the IAAPA website, or read a summary in Funworld.
Many talks we had and look forward to continuing
People make up the network, and the people at IAAPA are truly fantastic. Whether we talked crisis management, safety, haunted houses, water slides, trampolines or sound design, each and everyone at the conference was so kind, welcoming and motivated to deliver the best possible experiences for others. And as we look forward to other meet-ups in the future, we are happy to continue these conversations and kick off projects discussed in London.
Thank you to IAAPA for the fantastic event – and see you in Vienna!
