Themepark, tourism

The term “themepark” is a widely used concept, but scholars and practitioners define or view it differently. In general, themeparks are built spaces which organize their rides, buildings, landscape, entertainment, performances, fairs, foods, souvenirs, and even hotels around one or more themes (Bao 1997). The theme may relate to a story, movie, cartoon, argument, or dream, which provides identity and gives cohesion to the marketing strategy, space organization, and operation. Furthermore, themeparks are generally capital intensive, organized in closed spaces, feature one or more entertainment themes, and have a single admission price for the use of most or all services. They can be divided into four types: destination, regional, urban, and niche (Clavé 2007).

Development

The concept of themeparks originates from amusement parks, which can be traced back to the medieval European fairs. Amusement parks reached their greatest splendor in the first decade of the twentieth century in the...