@ Vikash Sharma | Sr Journalist
New Delhi: In modern day life, entertainment activities are a boon to anyone for mental peace & relaxation, and the desire for relaxation and entertainment is the basis of the amusement industry. The amusement industry has seen huge support time and again, which shows how important a role they play. With the support of the masses and demand for entertainment and leisure, the industry has seen rapid development as well. To discuss how the Amusement industry has shaped up in recent years, the opportunities that exist, and the challenges ahead, the Indian Association of Amusement Parks and Industries (IAAPI) hosted a day long program in New Delhi. The program also marked the 25th anniversary celebrations for IAAPI.
The day-long program had Leadership session and panel discussions on diverse topics related to amusement and tourism sector. The day began with a session on Driving the Amusement Industry in the Next 25 Years by Prof. Ranjeet Nambudiri (Professor, Organisational Behaviour & Human Resource Management, IIM Indore) followed by a panel discussion on Driving Growth Prospects in Amusement Industry, with panelists Arun Chittilappilly (Managing Director, Wonderla Holidays), Jai Malpani (Managing Director, Imagicaaworld), Abhishek Bansal (Executive Director, Pacific Development Corporation) and Abbas Jabalpurwala (CEO, Timezone India). The discussion was moderated by Ankur Maheshwari (Founder, Masti Zone).
Another panel discussion on Exponential Growth of Tourism Sector, Amusement, Food, Travel was moderated by Shrikant Goenka (Director – Premierworld Technology). Panelists included Roshal Thomas (Director, Ministry of Tourism, GOI), Rajeev Jalnapurkar (Director, Guardian Media & Entertainment), Saurabh Singhal (Managing Director – ANSA Retail), Benu Sehgal (Director, Spelendor Lifestyle Products), and Jyoti Mayal (President, Travel Agents Association of India [TAAI]).
On this occasion, Shrikant Goenka, Chairman IAAPI said, the whole country or rather the whole world is moving towards an experiential tourism, where one want to experience and enjoy everything. We have 500 members in IAAPI, who are associated with the amusement and leisure sector. Goenka further added, our annual turn-over stands at Rs 11,500 crore and we hope that it will reach Rs 25,000 crore by 2030 or we will be able to achieve this figure even before that. There are about 300 amusement parks and 2500 indoor amusement centers in India. It is estimated that this industry is growing at the rate of 15 percent, and there are huge employment opportunities are there.
There is immense investment opportunities to create more theme based stories, mythological and religious theme parks with the help of technological innovation, laser shows, videos etc. at various religious circuits which are developed by Centre & State tourism boards. This will attract more international tourists to the country. A comprehensive amusement park on the theme of Mahabharata has been announced in Delhi NCR and many more big investments are on the card, said Shrikant Goenka.
During the program, along with the possibilities of development in the amusement industry, the development of the tourism, food, and travel sectors was also discussed. The panelists discussed the growth prospects in the amusement industry in collaboration with other related associations like travel, food will help in driving tourism in the country.
