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  3. Think of theme parks and you think of roller coasters. The secret checking of the seat restraints, the stomach-sickening climb a

Think of theme parks and you think of roller coasters. The secret checking of the seat restraints, the stomach-sickening climb a

admin2015-05-24  26
问题     Think of theme parks and you think of roller coasters. The secret checking of the seat restraints, the stomach-sickening climb and the visceral thrill of the drop are the hallmarks of a park visit. But as a metaphor for the industry, the roller coaster is all wrong. Making money from theme parks is a hard thing, not a thrilling rush. And coasters are not where the best chance of revenue growth lies.
    This week’s July 4th celebrations marked the beginning of the summer season for America’s theme parks. Around the world, another year of moderate growth is expected: global attendance grew by 2.2% in 2006. Growth is slowest in the mature markets of North America and Europe, though the prospects look better in Asia. Scope to raise entry prices is limited by competition. At $300m or more, the economics of building a new park are "brutal", says Raymond Braun of Economic Research Associates, a consultancy.
    In response, operators are concentrating on improving the customer experience, making greater use of their facilities and turning parks into multi-day destinations. Stronger theming helps to make a park more distinctive. Greater interactivity is also important. The "Men in Black" ride at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, in which passengers shoot at animatronics aliens, is a good example of what industry types like to call an "immersive" experience. Discovery Cove, another Florida park, takes that term literally, charging visitors premium prices to swim with dolphins and other animals.
    Packing more people into parks risks turning visits into a series of queues interrupted by rides, rather than the other way round. "Queuing is a big nuisance," says Mark Fisher of Merlin Entertainments. One answer is to break up the boredom by putting entertainers into the queue. Another is to offer ride-reservation systems or special tickets that let people book a place in line without having to queue. Getting people through the park more efficiently is one way to increase the use of facilities. Extending the season is another. Tivoli, a park in the heart of Copenhagen, introduced a ten-day Halloween season in 2006 to sit alongside its summer and Christmas openings. "We used to be a seasonal business and now we are more or less a full-year business," says the park’s chief executive.
    As squeezing growth out of existing parks becomes harder, operators are also looking to new markets. Indoor city-based attractions, which are cheap to build and easy to get to, have plenty of potential, even in mature markets. Emerging markets look promising, too. Asia’s top ten parks recorded attendance growth of 4.4% in 2006, much of it driven by Hong Kong Disneyland’s first full year of operation. As consumers in developing markets become wealthier, the industry will look a lot more thrilling.
Roller coasters seem an inappropriate metaphor for theme parks in that
选项 A、coasters are no long the best thrilling hallmarks of a park visit.
B、coasters avail nothing for raising the turnover of theme parks.
C、earning profit from theme parks is anything but a thrilling rush.
D、making-money from theme parks is hardly tougher than rolling coasters.
答案C
解析 事实细节题。考查因果细节。根据Roller coasters定位到第一段。由倒数第二句“使主题公园赢利十分困难，而不像过山车那样thrilling rush”可知，答案是C项。
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