INFORMATION AND LOBBYING
Founded in 1981 due to the initiative of the British and German associations BALPPA and VDFU, Europarks is made up of two separate parks and 9 national associations for European amusement parks. In total, it represents 225 parks and 180 million visitors a year, 72, 000 employees and an annual turnover of 2150 million euros. These are no small figures.
Europarks fulfils two main functions. On the one hand it serves as an industry lobby before the EU, national governments, and suppliers. With the goal of improving the quality and development possibilities of European parks and the leisure industry as a whole, it also serves as a medium for an exchange of ideas, experiences and personnel between members.
The Europarks lobby before the EU consists above all in underlining the social and economic importance of leisure parks. It also plays close attention to any legislation that may be passed in the European Parliament that could have an effect on the industry. The harmonisation of rules and regulations between parks as well as a reduction in disloyal competitive practices within the group are also part of its mission.
Europarks also encourages the exchange of information and know-how between members. There is, for example, an observatory for the latest trends within the industry. Work is also underway on a database of economic indicators that would be available on a network for members to consult. In all these projects, Europarks is working in close collaboration with the IAAPA (see our article on this association).
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