Technology Playbook: Accelerating activation and operational readiness of theme parks and attractions

In today’s era of rapid technological advancements and an increasing emphasis on sustainability, "smart destinations" have emerged as a transformative concept in travel, tourism, and urban planning. Smart destinations leverage technology to enhance experiences and support efficient operations, integrating smart technologies to offer a more connected, sustainable, and personalised experience for both visitors and citizens.

Entertainment industry boom: Driven by theme parks and attractions

Theme parks and attractions, as key components of smart destinations, are meticulously designed to offer visitors a unique and thrilling escape into fantasy worlds, historical eras, or fictional universes. They provide entertainment opportunities and enhance the quality of life of visitors and residents; which is one of the key objectives of the Saudi Vision 2030.

Consumer spending at theme parks and related destinations in the MENA region is projected to grow at an annual rate of 10.9 percent, from $282 million in 2019 to $474 million by 2024, according to a report by the International Association of Amusement Parks and attractions (IAAPA), which has more than 6,000 members in 100 countries.  Such growth is faster than that of the world’s two largest theme park markets – North America, which is set to grow 2.3 percent annually to $29.5 billion by 2024, and Asia Pacific, predicted to grow by 5 percent to $26.3 billion.

In Saudi Arabia, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), is investing 50B SAR to build 21 entertainment complexes and 2 theme parks across 14 cities. Qiddiya has invested close to 6.5B SAR to build the SixFlags Theme Park and Water Park. THE RIG was also recently announced as the world’s first offshore tourist and entertainment project in the Arabian Gulf inspired by Saudi Arabia’s oil and gas heritage. With +70 attractions and activities across multiple platforms.

Theme parks and attractions have continued to push boundaries to differentiate, given the rising consumer demand for immersive experiences, featuring captivating environments, rich storytelling and interactive elements. The integration of advanced technologies, such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and cutting-edge multimedia plays a crucial role in enhancing these immersive experiences, making each visit memorable.

Transformative tech trends in theme parks and attractions

The landscape of theme parks and attractions is evolving rapidly, driven by technological and digital innovations. Below is the summary of the key trends:

1. Immersive rides: Theme parks, including the popular Universal Studios and Six Flags, are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), AR, VR, holograms, LED screens, audiovisual (AV) effects, and projection mapping to create immersive rides and virtual landscapes, enhancing the art and entertainment blend. SeaWorld Abu Dhabi takes guests on an immersive journey through the ocean’s depths using cutting-edge technology on the world’s largest cylindrical 360-degree LED screen.
   
2. Interactive and gamified attractions: Attractions are incorporating “phygital” technology to merge physical and digital experiences, offering real-life video game adventures. This technology also enhances guest engagement in waiting queues and through interactive maps, as seen in Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood. House of Hype in Boulevard Riyadh City combines gaming attractions, immersive theatre experiences, interactive areas for content creation, virtual music production stages, and experiential retail. Hello Park, Dubai is an interactive phygital playground for edutainment that uses phygital technology. It offers immersive and interactive attractions such as personal avatars, Digital Painting, interactive swings and floors that can be enjoyed by visitors.
   
3. Personalised experiences: Technologies offer real-time recommendations based on visitors’ interests. Advanced use cases include attractions adapting storytelling to individual preferences and responses. For instance, the Disney MagicBand system allows visitors to link their preferences, reservations, and other data to a wearable band, enabling personalised interactions, ride reservations, and photo opportunities. Yas Island’s theme parks and experiences are providing GenAI powered personalised customer guidance and information.

Guest interactions through robotics: Disney and other parks are deploying robots modelled after famous animated characters, capable of autonomous movement and interaction. Disney is also deploying baby Groot, a character from Guardians of the Galaxy movie that waves, winks and dances for the guests.

The role of technology partnerships

Theme parks and attractions must embrace technological advancements to meet the evolving expectations of visitors. Effective partnerships with technology experts are essential for incubating and executing the right technological strategies.

These collaborations can define and implement a comprehensive guest experience plan, encompassing the selection and deployment of critical systems, such as CRM, ERP, facility management, ticketing, retail / F&B Point of Sale (PoS), Digital Signage, etc.

A technology partner plays a crucial role in developing  digital touchpoints, such as mobile apps and web portals, that gather insights on visitor behaviours for data-driven marketing strategies. Moreover, such partnerships lay the foundation for the technological infrastructure necessary for product implementation and hosting.

Lastly, technology partners can help in developing tailored operational readiness plans and overseeing the technology deployment process.

Technology activation playbook for theme parks and attractions

PwC Middle East has created  a technology activation playbook specifically for this sector. It guides theme parks and attractions through a structured technology implementation journey – from defining operating models to establishing a partnership ecosystem. Our playbook provides a comprehensive suite of tools, including frameworks, methodologies, guiding principles, readiness assessments and templates, to support every stage of technology activation, ensuring a sophisticated technological experience for visitors, citizens and operators.

• Experience definition: Validates the experience vision and pillars established by the business owners of the theme parks and attractions such as data-driven marketing, immersive guest experiences and value-added services. It pivots around the personas of guests, operators and regulators, mapping their journeys to experience pillars and defining a catalogue of smart services and technology use cases, , including custom persona journeys and use case functions. The playbook also employs its theme parks technology readiness assessment and global benchmarks to identify gaps and best practices.
  
• Business enablers: Inspired by departmental strategies, the playbook augments proven frameworks to assist with the reference architecture, technology stack and ideal vendor selection to activate key business capabilities such as Personalization, etc. Development of theme parks at multiple locations will involve Lead Design Consultants (LDCs), PMC consultants and a board of procurement office which requires a well-established procurement and supply chain strategy to align the scope activities of each stakeholder and its interaction model with the technology teams. Our playbook can suggest the guiding principles on driving such complex models.
  
• Technology foundation: Once the overall strategy is established, we develop the target technical foundations and introduce custom architecture blueprints for business, application, data, and integration tailored to theme parks and attractions. This foundation supports the activation and operationalisation of the technology ecosystem. The playbook leverages proven methodologies and frameworks to define detailed requirements for each smart service and technology touchpoint. The playbook analyses organisational structure and recommends an IT operating model that integrates various functions for effective governance, aiming to deliver a future-proof model for theme parks. As a next step, the playbook assists in identifying and implementing systems and services, such as ticketing systems, food & beverage solutions, Audio/Video systems, event management systems, guest navigation, and crowd management. It  offers templates for vendor selection and detailed reference specifications, facilitating the choice of best-in-class vendors. The playbook also offers repositories to define scope of work, and the request for proposal (RFP) package and evaluation framework for different asset classes within theme parks and attractions.
  
• Technology activation: After vendor selection and onboarding, the playbook facilitates the implementation phase through its proven and recommended software delivery lifecycle (SDLC) templates and process framework, ensuring effective execution, PMO and governance as a Master Systems Integrator partner. It also guides through designing and orchestrating a middleware layer for seamless integration among product systems.
  
• Operational readiness: The playbook establishes a comprehensive readiness plan for the opening day, outlining key milestones, tasks to be completed and dependencies between delivery and IT team. It covers testing all technology systems, staff training programmes, and provides checklists for ensuring all initiatives and programmes are ready before launch.

The way forward: Streamlining technology activation for theme parks

Today, most of the industry players recognise their technology needs but struggle with the proper sequence and methodology for effective activation, often encountering delays. The key to overcoming these challenges lies in establishing synergies among IT, delivery, and procurement teams. An experienced partner can offer the strategic insight and execution plan necessary for success.

Our comprehensive technology activation playbook equips us with state-of-the-art assets and accelerators, ensuring we can meet ambitious objectives for our clients in the theme park realm.