The Euro Attractions Show has been rebranded as IAAPA Expo Europe ahead of this year’s event. With the name change, the show has grown further and the 2019 edition will be the largest in its history.
Scaling up
Held in the French capital Paris, IAAPA Expo Europe 2019 will be an all-encompassing event for the continent’s leisure and attractions industry professionals. Those in attendance will include operators, suppliers, manufacturers, investors, developers – and anyone wishing to engage with the global amusement community.
This year’s event is expected to attract more than 15,000 participants – of which around 9,000 will be buyers. In total, more than 600 companies from 100 countries will be represented at the expo.
With 17,500sq m (188,000sq ft) of exhibition space, IAAPA Expo Europe will feature the largest show floor in its history.
“As one of the most visited cities worldwide, Paris is central to the attractions industry, offering an impressive collection of innovative parks, museums, and cultural sites,” says Jakob Wahl, executive director and VP of IAAPA EMEA.
“This diverse market welcomes global attractions professionals for IAAPA Expo Europe for several days of buying, learning and networking. We want to offer attractions professionals the chance to be a part of the excitement and join their peers to discover more about the innovations and opportunities that will help them generate more revenue – and create memorable guest experiences.”
Educational Excellence
The event will offer 15 educational sessions, covering a wide range of important topics – from operations and creating guest experiences to communications and design.
Adding to these, there will be nine in-depth learning experiences. The specialty programme includes the IAAPA Institute for Attractions Managers at Disneyland Paris; a one-day waterpark forum; and a IAAPA Safety Institute session at Parc Astérix.
As always, networking will play a key part at the event. This year, there will be six key networking events, during which Expo attendees can mix with their peers in a more informal setting.
Exhibitor News
Huss Park Attractions - Booth: 1219
Huss Park Attractions is a market leader in the design, development, manufacture and sale of amusement rides for theme and amusement parks. The company has just announced that it’s installed two major attractions – the Top Spin Suspended and the Giant Frisbee 40, at the new Magic Mountain Park park in India. Top Spin Suspended is from the company’s classic range and is one of the most successful attractions ever built by Huss. Giant Frisbee 40 is from the caters for up to 40 riders at one time and takes riders 43m (141ft) in the air. For more information, visit the Huss booth.
Techincal Park - Booth: 1232
Technical Park is presenting several new projects at IAAPA Europe this year. Its global tour begins in Gran Canaria where the company has opened a new family coaster, with another under construction in Italy. In addition, the new Aerobat model “Rush Flight” been unveiled, while the company is also showing a new concept for the existing Sidecar ride, with a new “van” gondola designed in the farm theme instead of the motorbikes. A flume ride was part of a recent opening in France and finally, its re-engineered Loop Fighter pendulum ride is coming soon to the UAE.
Gateway Ticketing Systems - Booth: 1521
For more than 30 years, Gateway Ticketing Systems has provided attractions, tours, theme parks, waterparks, zoos, aquariums, museums and historic sites in Europe with ticketing and admission control solutions created to increase revenue, increase attendance, improve the guest experience and improve the bottom line.
Gateway is offering its Galaxy product suite that extends well beyond a traditional ticketing solution, with its Galaxy Connect cloud-based platform connecting attractions to third-party distributors.
Triotech - Booth: 1624
Triotech creates attractions such as interactive dark rides, interactive theatres, 4D theatres, VR experiences, flying theatres, walkthroughs and dark coasters. It also offers integrated turnkey solutions including content developed in its own studio in Montreal, Canada. This year marks a milestone for Triotech, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Visit Triotech’s booth to learn more on ‘The Flyer – San Francisco’ and breakthrough interactive dark rides such as Ninjago The Ride and Ghostbusters.
Vekoma - Booth: 1630
Vekoma Rides is one of the largest rollercoaster manufacturers in the world, with all of its services delivered under one roof. In 2019 alone, the company has almost 20 coasters opening globally. A recent example is the Hyper Space Warp, which opened in July at Fantawild Oriental Heritage Changsha in China. The sit-down thrill coaster includes six airtime hills, three inversions and two underground tunnels. For more, visit the Vekoma booth.
Zamperla - Booth: 1930
Zamperla is synonymous with creative designs and cutting edge technology – from early design concepts to finished products and ranging from small children’s rides to the most extreme and sophisticated rollercoaster rides. This capacity has led to long-standing collaborations with some of the biggest names in the industry, such as Disney, Universal, Six Flags and Warner Bros.
Intamin - Booth: 2227
Intamin’s LSM Double Launch Coaster Taiga successfully started operation at Linnanmäki in Finland recently (see p85). With a top speed of 106kmph, four inversions and a layout full of surprises, this new ride coaster is designed to get the heart racing. Intamin also recently launched its Dueling Dragons LSM Triple Launch Coaster at Guangzhou Sunac Land in China (see p83). The ride features a layout in which two trains are duelling each other with several thrilling near-miss elements.
Simworx - Booth: 2424
Simworx – a leader in the supply of dynamic motion simulation attractions and 4D cinemas for entertainment, education and corporate markets worldwide – is promoting its extensive range of media-based attractions at IAAPA Europe. Recently debuting the world’s first Immersive Superflume and soon to be followed by the first installation of their Mini Flying Theatre, Simworx is quickly adding to its growing global portfolio.
OpenAire - Booth: 2637
OpenAire has been designing and manufacturing beautiful, high-quality, retractable roof structures and skylights for 30 years. Headquartered in Oakville, Ontario, OpenAire is approaching 1,000 projects throughout North America, Europe, and the Middle East.
OpenAire’s newest waterpark, opening in 2021, will be part of the 2.1sq km (0.81sq mi) OWA resort destination on the Gulf Coast in Foley, Alabama.
Garmendale - Booth: 3121
Garmendale was founded in 1980 and specialises in the design, development and delivery of rides and services to theme parks. The company has been keeping tight-lipped about a major new project, which will be revealed to the world at IAAPA Expo Europe.
Clip ‘n Climb - Booth: 3133
Visitors will get the chance to be the first to try out the new cutting-edge software from Clip ‘n Climb – Clip ‘n Score. Developed over a period of two years, the technology has been designed to embrace the industry trends of gamification and connectivity. The system allows climbers to challenge themselves by gaining scores dependent upon agility, courage and difficulty. Using the new system uses contactless technology, with climbers able to track their scores as well as their climbing height and speed. Climbers can play individually, or in teams, and compete against each other. To learn more, visit the Clip ‘n Climb booth.
Lagotronics - Booth: 3730
Lagotronics will be showing its wide range of interactive experiences and projects, all including the “show-factor”. From interactive dark rides for theme parks to immersive interactive experiences for FECs, museums and experience centres, Lagotronics provides turn-key solutions to suit the client’s needs. From interactive Dark Rides, outdoor rides and VR & AR projects, to a wide range of show experiences, its latest project is the interactive Farm Fair Dark Ride at Nagashima Spa Land in Japan. Another recent project is Tekzone – an FEC in Kuwait – where Lagotronics has delivered audiovisual and lighting shows, as well as a themed GameChanger interactive game ride, which is also coming to Shimao’s Smurfs theme park in Shanghai.
Jora Vision - Booth: 4130
Immersive experience creator Jora Vision will showcase a number of its latest projects for theme parks, museums, FECs and tourist attractions, such as a cultural experience in “Hameau Duboeuf”, an update on the new “Snorri Touren” dark ride at Europa Park in Germany and the recently opened interactive dark ride Popcorn Revenge in Walibi Belgium, created in collaboration with Alterface. The company will also reveal a couple of other projects within Europe and Asia.
