As most operators and business owners in general will tell you, it’s not all sunshine and good times economically right now. However, Triotech recently said that early results from reopening FECs and amusement parks are “very encouraging for the industry.” Company founder and CEO Ernest Yale said, “we have seen numbers that are up from the same dates last year, even as high as 60% over the year before.”
The results he cited were from FECs, standalone attractions and amusement parks across the U.S. and in Europe that started to reopen in May and June. Triotech has several hundred of its VR attractions deployed around the world, plus thousands of their coin-op products.
Download Triotech’s FEC guide and park guide, which details how to operate their attractions during recovery, here.
Yale continued: “The current crisis due to the pandemic is unprecedented. The entire industry, from operators to suppliers, has been wondering what will be the consumer response to de-confinement, what will be the transition to the so-called new normal. Therefore, it is important to monitor the recovery.”
Ernest Yale
Triotech thinks the results they’ve been hearing about from operators is based on pent-up consumer demand.
“We know in the long run, our out-of-home entertainment industry will thrive,” Yale added. “It’s a fundamental human need to go out and live experiences in groups, with friends, and have fun. So, we might have a recovery in phases, with its inherent challenges including implementing hygiene and physical distancing rules from the relevant local authorities, but I am confident in the future.”
From the COVID-19 safety perspective, Triotech’s vice president of marketing Christian Martin said the company will continue to support their operators in the recovery phase by giving advice and any other assistance.
Hygiene wise, while they’ve noted it’s important to follow local recommendations, they also suggested frequent sanitizing and cleaning of games, rides and attractions with particular attention to high frequency touch points; physical distancing on rides, such as allowing only two players on a 4-player game; and possibly adding temporary plexiglass shields between player stations on some games, rides and attractions.
“We have also been active through IAAPA and other organizations to help local, regional, and national authorities to recognize that an FEC or an amusement park is not like a live concert,” Martin said. “In our industry, the operators are used to controlling access and flow of people so it must be treated differently than say, an outdoor concert or street fair. Operators are reacting well because they absolutely want to succeed in the recovery.”
In part, Triotech points to that willingness to adapt for the recent uptick in activity they’ve seen. “As the recovery is on a different timing depending of where anyone is in the world, operators are facing different realities, from not yet being allowed to reopen to full reopenings, and everything in between,” Martin explained. “The important point right now is to help operators in their recovery. A healthy industry is a plus for everyone so that is our focus.
Visit www.trio-tech.com for more information.
