IAAPA, the global association for the attractions industry, recently celebrated the recovery of the Italian attractions sector with an exclusive three-day event.
Taking place from 11-13 May, this year’s IAAPA EMEA Spring Summit took place at Cinecittà World, MagicLand and Zoomarine, providing panel discussions, keynote presentations, and networking opportunities.
“Business as usual”
Almost 100 industry attendees were present at the association-led event, featuring exhibitors from companies from Germany, Italy, and the UK and sponsored by Vivaticket, the provider of ticketing and access control solutions.
IAAPA EMEA’s executive director and VP Peter van der Schans said: “As we get back to business as usual, it is critical for our industry partners and IAAPA EMEA members to experience in-person learning and networking again. One major goal for our association is to connect members to support smart growth and development goals that ultimately benefit the entire global attractions industry.”
Stefano Cigarini, Cinecittà World CEO said: “The leisure industry must be innovative in order to offer to its guests always more engaging experiences, and IAAPA helps to distribute, share and grow the overall knowledge and best practices.
“With this in mind, Cinecittà World is moving forward from a single park to a multi-park destination resort, adding a second gate, the new Roma World theme Park, where guests live one day as ancient Romans. Let history begin!”
Fostering opportunities
Zoomarine is owned by The Dolphin Company, whose chief operating officer Dr Renato Lenzi recognises the importance of park entertainment, with over 2,000 people involved in the industry throughout the Lazio Region.
“This extremely important event is the opportunity to foster an exchange of knowledge, expertise and valuable standards for the theme park industry in Europe,” stated Lenzi. “Zoomarine is excited and proud to be part of this learning and exchange opportunity between theme parks operators and also remark the importance of Rome and Lazio Region in the biggest scheme of growth of theme parks in Europe.”
Before the pandemic outbreak, 20 million Italians visited amusement parks each year. MagicLand & Acquaworld CEO Guido Zucchi says: “We are very proud for having hosted the international event of the entertainment industry.
“2022 represents a key year for our park. Huge investments resulted in great new attractions like ‘Wild Rodeo’, a Giant Frisbee that is unique in Italy and a very big themed area ‘Far West’ of more than 5.000 sqm for all-around fun. We work with a view to continuous renewal, to confirm ourselves as the largest theme park in Central-Southern Italy, the unmissable and unbeatable destination for entertainment.”
Earlier this month, IAAPA Asia Pacific (APAC) announced a virtual event which will take place in June via the organisation’s Connect+ platform.
