The economic slowdown has become a blessing in disguise for amusement parks this summer. People are flocking in large numbers to these parks because they are now seen as a cost-effective way to take a break compared with expensive vacations inside and outside the country.

“We were a little apprehensive about this year’s summer as to whether people will cut on entertainment costs because of the present financial climate. But in fact, we are seeing more people coming in,” said Arun Chittilappalli, executive director of V-Guard and managing director of Wonderla Holidays.

V-Guard’s amusement parks in Bangalore and Kochi — Wonderla and Veegaland — are receiving 30 per cent more visitors compared with last year, he said. The month of April also saw more than 70 per cent walk-ins compared with March. During March, the parks saw 45,000 people, whereas 80,000 people came in April, Chittilappalli told the Financial Chronicle.

“People who used to go abroad for holidays are now looking at vacations within the country to cut costs. An increase in the number of family crowd also points towards this trend,” he added.Chennai’s first theme park, Kishkinta, also saw a 40 per cent rise in guests this April, compared with last year. MGM Dizee World, also in Chennai, is seeing a 20 per cent growth in footfalls this time. According to Issac Suresh, senior marketing manager of MGM Dizee World, the average daily walk-ins during April last year was 1,500. “This time, the number has gone up to 1,800,” he said.

Suresh, however, finds that there is decline in the corporate employee groups visiting the park as well as their adjoining resort. “Earlier, we used to receive around 35 groups of employees from different companies. They would have parties at the resort and enjoy the rides too. The number of such groups has come down by half,” he said. Suresh too agreed that more families are thronging the parks.

To welcome the summer season, many of the parks also have introduced new rides and promotional schemes. Kishkinta, which has given special emphasis to water rides, has installed a new ‘Eskimo ride’ to beat the summer heat. The equipment and technology have been imported from Finland-based leisure product manufacturer CE Lindgren.

The Rs 1-crore ride has been assembled on a 60 feet-high hill slope. One acre of land around the ride will be covered with artificial snow and mist and maintained at a temperature of 15 degrees Celsius, said M C Punnose, chairman of Kishkinta. While MGM also has added a ‘thunder dome ride’ with five new cars, V-Guard is running a few schemes, including 50 per cent discount for students of 10th and 12th grades.