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Tourism students go behind the scenes of a theme park

Published 2 May 2013

A trip to a German theme park offered a group of School of Sport and Service Management students the opportunity to broaden their classroom learning.

The students are studying International Tourism Management at the university’s Eastbourne campus and for one of their course modules, Attractions Management, they manage a simulated theme park. The module focuses on the key human resource, marketing and financial considerations in managing a major tourist attraction. To bring the module to life course tutors Dr Clare Weeden and Dr Nigel Jarvis arranged the fieldtrip to EuropaPark in Germany, a theme park that attracts 4.5 million visitors a year.

The students were provided with a very detailed tour of the hotel and catering complexes as well as the rides and exhibitions on the site by Kevin Kruschwitz from the Marketing Department. They were also given insights into the major issues that need to be considered on a daily basis to successfully run a theme park by Miro Gronau, EuropaPark’s Operations Manager.

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The students on their trip to EuropaPark - photo by Olivia Lynch

The weekend trip also included a visit to MACK Rides, who have been building fairground rides for almost 100 years, supplying theme parks around the world. Students were given a tour of the factory floor and also the research and design engineering centre by Maximilian Roser, Head of Marketing, and Christian von Elverfeldt, Chief Executive Officer.

Student Kurt Takundwa said: "I found it very interesting to see just how much work is involved in the construction side of theme park attractions."

Raissa Benchoufi, a second year student, summed up by saying : "The trip was a great chance to learn about the management and marketing operations side of theme parks. It gave us the chance to experience in the real world what we have learned in lectures. This trip gave me a new understanding of leisure industries, because there was so much I have never even thought about before.  Moreover, I achieved an internship opportunity!"

Find out more about tourism courses at the University of Brighton.