Another key cultural difference: the pace of life. While Europeans in good numbers get out and enjoy these attractions, they are in less of a hurry than Americans. They are much more content to take in the attractions at a slower pace. It wasn’t uncommon to see just as many guests lounging mid-mountain at a ski resort as there were guests actually engaging in the attractions. People would come up and hike around, throw a Frisbee, have a picnic, or simply sit out and sunbathe.
This relaxed nature translated to the reservation systems—or lack thereof. The only time we had to pre-register was for a zip line tour. Everything else was first-come, first-serve. People seemed okay with queuing up on busy days and waiting for their turn at an attraction. Of course, having four weeks or more of vacation time per year might help explain their patience.
We also learned that Europeans have a curiously poor sense of time. Prior to a downhill hike in Italy, we were told it would take “only 20 minutes.” We were still hiking an hour and a half later. Still, in general, access to mountainous environments in Europe surpasses what we have stateside—no single area was as remote as some of the far-flung aerial attractions I’ve visited in the U.S.
PEERING INTO THE FUTURE
Since my return, many people have asked, “What we can learn from the Europeans?” From an industry perspective, a visit to European adventure parks is somewhat akin to taking a ride in a time machine 10 years into the future.
That future is a mixed bag. For some, increased competition can be cruel. Several smaller parks have either closed or been purchased by larger operators in the region, which we can certainly expect to see in the U.S. as the industry matures.
On a more upbeat note, technological advances will continue. Mechanical braking systems on zip lines are being replaced by elaborate systems which allow for steeper zip lines with more extreme drops. Europe’s more relaxed culture around safety and litigation allows for greater developments in technology—developments we will see, in some form or another, in the near future.
But just as important as the industry knowledge were the cultural experiences. It was quite a paradigm shift to see the language barriers that existed at almost every attraction, with German, French, Italian and Romansh all serving as national languages in at least one of the parks we visited. In spite of this, everyone still managed to communicate what he or she needed to, and have a positive experience. There were inappropriate jokes told by one of the local Italians (find me at ACCT and I’ll tell you one), and guitar sing-alongs that were lubricated by the local beverages we sampled (this will not be replicated at ACCT under any circumstances).
One other item of note: the food. It exceeded even my extremely high expectations. So much so that in spite of our active days, I still managed to gain five pounds. Honestly, how do you turn down pretzels and beer in Bavaria, grappa and pasta in Italy, and schnitzel offered at almost every stop? Food for thought for our own parks.
Overall, the trip was an eye-opening, once-in-a-lifetime experience. While the differences were striking, the similarities between the North American and European industries were even more so. If the opportunity arises, anyone in our field looking to do market research on a more advanced cross-section of the industry should take advantage of it. Just don’t believe the locals when they tell you how long it takes to hike somewhere.
