Halfway through his one-year stint at the helm of the organisation, IAAPA chair Gerardo Arteaga has praised the Asian attractions market, while raising concerns about the Brazil, which has seen a notable decrease in visitor numbers and investment since the conclusion of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Speaking exclusively to AM2, Arteaga revealed his plans for the six months leading up to IAAPA 2015 in November, praising the Asian market for solid performances.

“With the growth we are seeing in Asia, I plan to take a deeper look at that region, starting with the Asian Attractions Expo in Hong Kong in June,” said Arteaga. “China is seeing a fantastic rate of development and IAAPA is focusing on that."

When AM2 previously spoke to Arteaga at IAAPA 2014 in November, the new IAAPA chief – who is also general manager of Fantasilandia in Santiago, Chile – hinted that Latin America could become a "huge market" for the attractions middle class once the region stabilises. While on the whole, Arteaga believes signs are positive, Brazil remains a concern. After numbers were boosted by last year’s World Cup, the country has seen a sharp decrease in activity, according to Arteaga.

“Brazil is the big question mark for the region,” said Arteaga. “We have been surprised by the decrease in activity there, however we are seeing a lot of projects for improvements made to various parks in the region. Guatemala, Chile, Mexico and Colombia are countries where important investments have been made in parks, as well as the construction of new FECs in those areas. In Chile, we see continuous development and growth in FECs and at Fantasilandia we are adding a major coaster by the end of 2015. Argentina is also showing positive signs with the addition of more mall-based FECs.”

On what needs to change in the attractions industry, Arteaga said that safety protocol needs to be reviewed, with both staff and visitors taking greater responsibility to maintain and adhere to rules set by visitor attractions.

“I have heard mentioned a few times, and just recently on my trip to Colombia, that the main pillar of our industry – safety – requires a specific “behaviour” on the part of our guests and visitors,” said Arteaga.

“They must understand and adhere to the rules established by the parks for their own safety. This is a complicated topic because there are countries where, for cultural reasons, this is harder to achieve. We are faced with the challenge of informing and reminding our visitors that safety also depends on them. They are a significant part of an industry with very high safety standards," he continued.

"You could say that the split in responsibility is almost 50/50, because you could have the safest operation possible, but if visitors arrive and behave recklessly, there is a much greater risk of serious injury or even death. Some parks have introduced a visitor code of responsibility on the front cover of their park maps as a way of controlling this potentially risky behaviour, which needs to be addressed.”

Finally, the IAAPA chair stressed that for a complex industry to be successful, countries within world regions need to work together and networking at events such as IAAPA would be key to bridge any gaps, continental or otherwise.

“The US is really the only large market, but regionally, we have to work together. The Europeans have to get together in spite of the vast number of countries; Latin Americans have to travel to North America. IAAPA bridges those gaps,” said Arteaga.

“The scale of our industry has pushed the leaders of our business to strengthen ties among each other in different markets and countries to drive important aspects, such as best practices and the spread of ideas.

“Events like the Leadership Conference in Dubai and Regional Networking Meetings and Tours in Chile and Turkey, this year, reflect the commitment of our members to reach out. I find that we are becoming more united and more global at every turn, and that is exactly what we are trying to do as an association.”