Why is there no theme parks in The Balkans?

[MackMan]

After a long trip to Balkan Europe, I have started to really think about how the hell an area like Dalmatia (Croatia) would not have a proper theme park. Fairly populated in its own right, a city like Split and surrounding areas get millions of tourists flocking a fairly small area. Wouldn’t a theme park flourish here? There’s nothing really nearby to challenge it, and Dalmatia is just one suggestion.

Similar situations exist in Montenegro and nearby Dubrovnik. Maybe it’s to do with land which I doubt, I think some of these provinces have fair stretches of land that could easily turned into a theme park? Maybe also it’s the recent tourism spike of The Balkans that has meant there hasn’t been much time to think about theme parks. Anyway just a thought, with mass tourism to The Balkans (Montenegro and Croatia especially) will we see a theme park?

The endless American, German, Australian, and countless European tourists sure would stop by a good theme park.

 

[Boodangy]

I mean, Dalmaland exists in Zadar and they have a pretty good looking waterpark and amusement park with three coasters and other good looking rides, but I assume you are discounting that since you say "proper theme park" in Dalmatia.

 

[Gavin]

I think a lot of people overestimate the tourist effect.

Outside of the big, destination parks, I don't think most tourists think about them. Are tourists in London thinking about Thorpe Park? How many visitors to NYC are scheduling a trip to Six Flags Great Adventure? Small parks in areas with a decent footfall might do ok, but I'd seriously question how many people are willing to go more out of their way.

A place like Terra Mitica should be massively successful based on the number of tourists down the road in Benidorm, but it's not. The vast majority of parks need a strong, local customer base.

 

[TilenB]

While I would love to give some local ex-Yu knowledge, I'm afraid I can't really give you a particularly definitive answer. I feel like Yugoslavia (unlike say, Soviet Union and other countries that were firmly in the Eastern block) mostly relied on small travelling fairs rather than having amusements in one fixed place and I guess that never really changed, as there's still a fair few of those miniscule places dotted around the region. As to why (apart from Dalmaland that @Boodangy mentioned) a more modern park project never really took off, I can't really say. We're also talking about the Balkans, so corruption (especially when it comes to something that would be partially public funded) is always a good answer as to why a lot of things never move past the planning stages.

And yeah, to echo what @Gavin pointed out above, I really do not feel that Dubrovnik is in any way a good place to build one. First off, there's hardly any flat area that isn't fully built up on the Croatian side of the border and there wouldn't be a significant overlap between the tourists that go there and would want to visit a theme park as well. Split is honestly a better choice, as it's a fairly sizeable city in its own right and I feel there's more tourists in the area that would be interested in visiting the place. Still, I don't see it being very sustainable outside of the top Summer season, there just isn't a massive population pool in the area.

With that in mind, I feel that Zagreb and Belgrade could be the most notable location that could sustain a proper theme park that wouldn't rely entirely on tourists that come from afar. Zagreb Metropolitan Area is fairly big (far bigger than Split) and is also within reasonable driving distance from basically anywhere in Slovenia and Belgrade is a massive city in its own right that could easily sustain a well thought out theme park in its proximity.

 

[JoshC.]

Money.

Simple as that isn't it?

Eastern Europe in general, whilst "developed countries", is still in a way developing, especially with expensive luxuries such as theme parks.

It should be remembered that Poland has only recently got into the theme park industry properly. And that was achieved thanks to a ton of EU money, a motivated and enthusiastic owner and a great location for local business. That's a very ideal scenario to open a theme park, which the Balkan countries would struggle to achieve.

Sure, the Balkans have a huge tourist appeal. Gavin hit the nail on the head regarding tourism and locals though.

Also, please correct me if I'm wrong, but one of the appeals for the Balkan countries to their comparative lower cost compared to western countries. Getting a theme park which matches that cheaper cost, whilst also a good quality and returning on investment, would be a huge business risk.

 

[MackMan]

I mean, Dalmaland exists in Zadar and they have a pretty good looking waterpark and amusement park with three coasters and other good looking rides, but I assume you are discounting that since you say "proper theme park" in Dalmatia.

Honestly overlooked Dalmaland, but it still doesn’t really serve the big tourist areas (Zadar still has an impressive tourism industry by itself).

This is a very good point @Gavin
I guess tourism just sometimes isn’t enough. I guess one thing I would consider is that a lot of people have holiday homes in that area too.

I guess one thing I want to mention is that I believe this extends to the other Balkan countries. I guess Turkey is the only one with a few really good coasters. Croatia is one example I guess, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, quite a big region with not much theme parks. Water parks are all the rage though.

Money.

Simple as that isn't it?

Eastern Europe in general, whilst "developed countries", is still in a way developing, especially with expensive luxuries such as theme parks.

It should be remembered that Poland has only recently got into the theme park industry properly. And that was achieved thanks to a ton of EU money, a motivated and enthusiastic owner and a great location for local business. That's a very ideal scenario to open a theme park, which the Balkan countries would struggle to achieve.

Sure, the Balkans have a huge tourist appeal. Gavin hit the nail on the head regarding tourism and locals though.

Also, please correct me if I'm wrong, but one of the appeals for the Balkan countries to their comparative lower cost compared to western countries. Getting a theme park which matches that cheaper cost, whilst also a good quality and returning on investment, would be a huge business risk.

Some great points here. The cheaper cost of some of the countries are indeed true. Croatia and Greece though not so much, both are pricier in some areas than most of Western Europe!

 

[roomraider]

Another data point for the tourism doesn't necessarily mean good parks can be made with Portugal.

Portugal's a big tourist destination, with a much higher GDP than the Balkan countries and yet there isn't a proper park in the entire country.

Back in the Balkans there has been a long running saga to get Luna Park In Skopje open (as the thread in the construction forum will arrest) but it's just not really happening. Multiple mayors and governments don't seem to have been able to get it finished. That could be money issues, corruption or maybe both but if Luna Park a historically successful park and exactly the sort of size of park that does well in these old eastern bloc urban environments can't get off the ground I can't imagine a big destination park will either.

 

[Phila]

I’ve thought the same thing! I was in Split last summer, and with the amount of tourists everywhere, especially families, it seems like a theme park would totally work. Dalmatia has the space, and the weather’s perfect for outdoor attractions most of the year. I wonder if it’s because tourism really picked up in the last decade, so they’ve focused more on hotels and historical sites instead of big projects like theme parks. Plus, people go there mainly for the beaches and old towns, so maybe there hasn’t been a huge demand yet. But with how tourism is booming, I wouldn’t be surprised if something like that pops up soon.

 

[owenstreet7]

Iceland is another country that seems to have no theme parks at all. There are no entries in that country at all on RCDB.

I'd have thought there may be one park there.

 

[Gavin]

Iceland is another country that seems to have no theme parks at all. There are no entries in that country at all on RCDB.

I'd have thought there may be one park there.

Reykjavik could maybe support one of those family entertainment centres - there's a shopping centre a bit outside the city centre - but that would be about it.

 

[owenstreet7]

Reykjavik could maybe support one of those family entertainment centres - there's a shopping centre a bit outside the city centre - but that would be about it.

I'd have thought there'd be an FEC with a coaster in Iceland like Babylon Park. I could imagine that working well over there.

 

[CanobieFan]

In 2014 when I was in Reykjavik, the big park where the zoo is had a few rides but since it had no coaster, didn't make rcdb and probably flew under the Rader. I remember one of them smaller sized Moser Spring drop towers, a double decker carousel, and maybe 2 or 3 other kid/family rides