THEME PARK FACILITIES MANAGEMENT - UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS AND STEPPING UP PERFORMANCE

Abstract

Theme Park and Facilities Management are two terms that are not often placed together. The private nature of Theme Parks to ensure their business attractiveness has resulted in limited published information in their Facilities Management strategies. Nonetheless, viewing from the perspective that Theme Park is in fact, a cluster of various types of strategic facilities managed by one entity, Facilities Management concepts can be applicable. Utilising existing Facilities Management techniques and developing guidelines that are specific to the Theme Park industry, could allow Theme Parks to operate more effectively and perform above guest expectations. The purpose of this research is to evaluate Theme Park performance through the perspective of Facilities Management, which allow connection of core business objectives with Facilities Management practices and services offered within Theme Parks. The objectives of the research are to investigate the needs and performance of Theme Park, study expectations of users and generate innovative Facilities Management strategies. An in-depth interview with the Facilities Manager of Ocean Park Hong Kong was conducted, together with a survey questionnaire with eleven Ocean Park users. Performance of the Park’s facilities and the expectation of facilities downtime were measured and compared. The results showed that Facility Managers have a good gauge of the Park’s performance but still require more avenues to collect more holistic feedbacks from users. Facilities Management issues pertaining to Theme Parks have also been identified and discussed. Finally, all findings in the research contributed to the formulation of proposed strategies meant for Theme Park operators and future researchers, which served to enhance future Theme Parks Facilities Management.