Having first opened its gates in the year 2000, it has taken more than a decade to achieve, but Benidorm based theme park Terra Mitica closed their 2012 year accounts with an operating profit of 1.59 million euro, before tax, taking into account the offset to pay off debts.
The Aqualandia group, led by Georges Santa-Maria, took over the management of Terra Mitica in 2010, under a lease with a purchase option which materialized two years later, in July 2012, when it acquired the stake in the shares owned by the Valencia government, along with CAM and Bancaja, amounting to 65 million euro.
The first challenge facing the company, who already operate amusements in Benidorm, was to drastically cut costs, thus reducing the workforce by some 50 people immediately, and also applying to remove an additional 186 posts. These combined staff cuts led to a 51% saving of staff costs in 2012.
The next move was to cut costs accrued by external suppliers and contractors, which were slashed by 6.2% and 38.6% respectively.
Next were their attempts to increase revenue, and turn around the significantly falling numbers of attendees and subsequent income. The park had already seen a 12.1% drop in sales, equating to 15.6 million euro, thought mostly due to the strain on the nation´s finances, thus reducing the disposable income of families.
Ticket prices and combined offers all featured in their marketing mix, along with various promotions and a revised timetable of opening hours, providing a more realistic attraction during busier seasons. Food and drink supplies, as well as gift shops also saw some revisions.
With all of these factors combined, the management team have realised what they said from the first day of operation, that the park can be a success, if it is properly managed. However, there´s only so much that overpriced drinks and food can help with their historic dilemmas, for example, they still have to pay 20 million euro to the public company, Sociedad Proyectos Temáticos de la Comunidad Valenciana, before the end of the year.
Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/41866/
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