Volume 1, No. 11. June 29, 2001
A down-scale group
It's
a grand scope for a group that operates on a small scale, but with a June 14
meeting at Madurodam in The Hague, The Netherlands, a world-wide Mini Land Association
was born. Representatives from 12 mini-land attractions agreed to the merits
of having their own trade association and have begun the administrative procedures
of formally creating the organization, with bylaws, officers and membership
criteria.
That matter of criteria—classification of miniature parks—already
is a sticky point. "It's complicated," said Eiran Gazit, CEO of Mini Israel
in Latrun, Israel, one of the driving forces of the association. "For instance,
Legoland has a Mini USA in their park. Do you count that as a miniature park?"
Gazit invited Legoland to the meeting just in case, but the corporation didn't
show. "It made my life easier because I didn't have to deal with it. Should
they come later, we'll have to deal with it."
Dealing with issues specific to this niche of attraction prompted the formation
of a Mini Land Association, though the group hopes to work within the scope
of IAAPA. "It requires totally different skills than any other attraction,"
said Giedie Bierens, CEO of Madurodam. "Everything is minute, most in a scale
of 1 to 25. We have a lot to learn from each other which we cannot learn from
the bigger theme parks because the scale is different. Literally."
Seeking of knowledge while developing Mini Israel spurred Gazit to visit Madurodam.
The Dutch park in turn grew interested in the miniature animatronics Mini Israel
plans to use (Mini Israel is still under construction between Jerusalem and
Tel Aviv, the project stalled by the current unrest in the region). Gazit also
visited with Italia in Miniatura in Rimini, Italy, for ideas and then served
as catalyst for an alliance of all three parks. "We introduced those two," Gazit
said. "They'd never spoken to each other, let alone visited each other." Rimini
officials attended the opening of Mini Israel's special exhibit at Madurodam
last fall, then they met again at last November's IAAPA. After those meetings,
Gazit sent 40 invitations to this month's wider-scale meeting, and both he and
Bierens expect at least 20 parks to attend the next meeting September 6 in Rimini.
Aside from sharing technical expertise, the association could share marketing
campaigns and either models or copies of models. "A lot of these parks are miniature
worlds," Gazit said. "They all have an Eiffel Tower, and everybody built their
own. With an association, instead of spending all the money necessary to send
people to Israel to get photos and details of the Wailing Wall, there's a park
in Israel that, for a third of the price, can copy it for you." The association
also aims to raise quality standards at miniature parks around the world. "If
we are able to help one another, I think the total image of miniature parks
could, should go up," Bierens said.
Ascertaining the market for miniature parks is as problematic as defining what
is and isn't a miniature park. The 12 parks who attended the Madurodam meeting
reported a total of more than 3 million visitors last year and an average investment
of US$15 million. Many more mini parks are on the way. "I can tell you that
right now there are approximately 20 parks on paper," Gazit said, listing projects
in eastern Germany, Turkey, India, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, Malta and Greece.
"They're sprouting like mushrooms. And slowly it will become something tourists
to most destinations will expect to be part of their itinerary."
The following parks attended the June 14 meeting: Bekonskot in the United Kingdom;
Catalunya en Miniatura in Barcelona, Spain; France Miniature in Versailles,
France; Italia in Miniatura; Klein-Erzgebirge in Germany; Madurodam; Miniatuurpark
Appelscha in The Netherlands; Mini Europe in Brussels, Belgium; Mini Israel;
Mini Mundus in Austria; Parc de Mini Chateaux in France; Pueblochico in Tenerife,
Canary Islands.
©2001, Minton Enterprises LLC
All rights reserved