Amusement park operator Wonderla Holidays, which hit capital markets this year is seeing an improvement in footfalls and pricing at year-end. Despite higher prices, there is a much stronger demand this year, says company MD Arun K Chittilappilly in an interview to CNBC-TV18.
The company is generating healthy revenues this holiday season, he says adding that demand for New Year this year is higher than it was going into 2014.
Going ahead, it plans to have 4 amusement parks up and running by FY19, with its third project in Hyderabad starting within 18 months, while the next one in Chennai will commence thereafter.
Below is the verbatim transcript of the interview:
Anuj: Do you have any special plans for the New Year and have you seen any increased bookings or increased footfall during the New Year period?
A: Since we run amusement parks we have higher footfalls during the holiday season. We usually have some kind of special programmes during Christmas and New Year and we have little more extra programmes this year.
Since we have a resort also now, we have a New Year programme at the resort which is also fully booked out. So, it is shaping up well.
Sonia: Do you have any plans to launch any amusement parks in any new geographies in the next year?
A: We have a plan to start our Hyderabad project and that will be in about 18 months’ time. Soon after that we will work on our fourth project which will be in Chennai. Our plans is to have four amusement parks up and running by the end of FY19. We are on track to do that. After that we will hopefully look at the Northern cities may be starting with Pune or the bigger cities towards middle or the Northern parts of the country.
Sonia: You were telling us that the resort is fully booked during New Year. What are the average packages – the cost of the packages that you guys offer? How much higher is it compared to what you offer on a normal basis?
A: For the New Year we have special buffet. Then we have programmes for kids, then we have dance floor. We have lot of programmes which go on through the night.
We typically charge a much higher price than our normal ticket rates. We are currently charging about Rs 11500 plus taxes for a double room which is almost double of what we charge on a normal weekday.
Anuj: How much do you think this Christmas to New Year period will add to your revenues?
A: Holidays make up for a good chunk of the sales in the quarter but our sales are pretty much spread out throughout the whole 3 months. So, it is hard to put a number on it but we do get a spike in our footfalls and room revenues etc during the end of the year. However since our footfalls are kind of spread throughout the 3 months it is not a significant, I wouldn’t say it is going to impact the quarter significantly unless there is huge increase or a huge decrease. So, as of now it is looking good.
Sonia: Rs 11500 for a double room is quite a bit. That is just for a couple right, not for a family of four?
A: Yes that is for a couple. It includes dinner and the New Year programme. We do not charge extra for that. In our resort we do not usually open out the New Year programme for outsiders. So, we want to keep it a exclusive affair. So we open it to mostly the guests who stay with us and mostly families that is.
Sonia: Is the demand this year a lot more than what it was last year? I am just trying to understand whether the spending power has increased this year versus last year?
A: Our rooms got sold out by December 22 especially for the New Year programme. I think the demand has been much stronger. Also our pricing has been a lot higher this year. Last year we were less than Rs 10000, this year we are selling at Rs 11500 but still we are seeing a huge growth in demand. So, that is a good sign.
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