Andrew Mellor catches up with Ross Magri, managing director of visitor attractions design group, Sarner.

InterPark: How did you become involved in the leisure and attractions industry and what is your background with Sarner?

RM: It started when I was 17. As a young student I was doing part time work as a tourist guide in a museum, in Malta where I was born. By coincidence I was introduced to Ron Bewley, who at the time was travelling the world creating widescreen multi-vision experiences using computer-synchronised projectors, which in those days, was cutting edge technology.

Ron was commissioned to produce the Malta Experience, having already very successfully created the New York and London Experience amongst many others. At the time, I already had a keen interest in both photography and engineering. Ron was doing a combination of the two, which I became totally fascinated with. From that point I couldn’t wait to master the art and technology involved to create such immersive attractions.

Following university I worked in a number of roles with various entertainment and leisure companies before joining Sarner in 1990. At the time, Sarner was designing world-class visitor attractions that required both technical and creative skills. This suited me perfectly.

In 1998 Peter Sarner – who started the business some 30 years prior – passed away sadly at the relatively young age of 50. The business went through a number of changes after that, and I eventually took responsibility for running the business. Now I hold the position of managing director.

IP: The Sarner team no doubt includes individuals with specific design and other skills. What is your speciality?

RM: Te key challenge of managing a company like Sarner is the ability to bring many specialist trades and professions together and ensure the end product not only meets or exceeds the client’s expectations, but is engineered to a high standard to ensure long term reliability and low maintenance.

I consider myself lucky that for as long as I can remember, I always had a keen interest in both the arts and engineering fields. That’s still the case today and it allows me to effectively manage both the creative and technical teams to ensure we have total complete synergy between to those two distinct fields.

IP: When creating a new attraction from scratch, where do you and the Sarner team start?

RM: That’s a very good question and also a difficult one to give a straight answer to because each project is different and unique. For example, the recent award-winning Doctor Who Experience we completed for the BBC had a very tight brief as the series had been running for almost 50 years and the storyline together with much of the contents had already been set, whereas some of the other projects we are asked to design have a very lose brief – if any at all!

In this case, before we even start work on the concept, the first thing we do is to work with the client to establish the commercial parameters; these may include visitor throughput, ticket pricing and visitor profile.

Such factors have a bearing on the overall design and therefore we feel very strongly before we start any design work, that we should agree the operational, practical and financial requirements of the project, up front.

IP: What are the main challenges when designing a new attraction?

RM: Where would you like me to start?! Each attraction is unique and can be considered a prototype, and although Sarner has over 40 years of experience, we are always dreaming new ideas and exploring new markets that present unique and specific challenges.

The work that is performed within our own design studios and workshops tends to be the easier part of any project. The real challenge starts during the interpretation of the design, which is further compounded when the project is outside the UK.

We get to work in many countries and have to comply with different regulations, cultures and working methodology. This presents a host of challenges that are unique to each of the locations where we are working. What’s more, the type of projects we get commissioned to work on can vary a great deal too.

IP: What do you think are the main ingredients of the perfect visitor attraction venue?

RM: Honestly, I don’t think there is one single magic formula that determines what makes a successful visitor attraction. I guess, first and foremost it needs to be entertaining.

A broad term, of course, and what is entertaining to some may not be entertaining to others. Next is a good storyline, followed by the direction and effective use of the technology, special effects, lighting and sound in no specific order.

Sarner’s ethos has always been to lead the project creatively and we’ve proven this to be correct time and time again. All too often you will see attractions where the technology is at the forefront but in total conflict with the visitors’ experience – ultimately letting down the guest.

Just like a great movie, the perfect visitor attraction is one that enthralls, excites and entertains and takes the visitor on an emotional ride by taking total control of the visitor environment and making best use of a captive audience.

IP: What challenges do developers of new attractions face at the present time outside the realms of the actual design of a venue?

RM: Well I would have to say ‘commercial viability’ bearing in mind the global economic forecast is of some concern and it’s difficult to predict how this will affect visitation numbers. However, it has to be said that during a recession, most leisure and visitor attractions tend to show an increase in attendance and conversely it may be just the perfect opportunity to invest in such projects.

Furthermore, the build cost during such times is substantially less than when the economy is growing rapidly, perhaps making such investments highly profitable when other industries are suffering because of economic slowdown.

IP: What effects are you seeing the current global economic climate having on the international parks and attractions industry?

RM: Over the last couple of years we have seen a resurgence of new projects in Asia and Eastern Europe. There has also been lots of interest from African countries notwithstanding the current economic situation.

However, this may be as a result of a lag between the decision makers/investors and the global economic climate. Many of the projects Sarner is involved in are of a scale that have been in the planning process for a number of years, where budgets have already been allocated, and consequently may not be affected by the global slowdown, at least in the short term.

I will certainly expect that if what is being said in the media was to come true, some projects may be delayed or cancelled altogether. The last time I saw this happen was in 1997 during the Asian economic crisis when large construction projects just came to a halt and companies were going bankrupt on a daily basis. We have seen none of this happen as yet nor any currency devaluing by 50 per cent or more within days as was the case back then.

I am therefore optimistic, in spite of what is being said by the press, that many of the projects will remain on the books and be completed successfully.

IP: I guess you don’t have a crystal ball, but what do you feel is going to be the next ‘big thing’ for the attractions industry?

RM: Well, I would say with some certainty that technology will inevitably dictate how we design our projects and afford key changes in the way we create visitor attractions. So far it has only improved the visitors’ experience to a point, but this situation is bound to change as new techniques become available to allow designers to better realise their visions.

One limitation of visitor attractions is that the experience is consistent and although this works fine for guests visiting for the first time, there are limited opportunities to attract repeat visits. This would change if attractions could be designed to provide alternative scenarios or experiences and although this is currently feasible, the cost is the key prohibiting factor.

Interestingly, new technology is allowing the creation of virtual sets that can be changed electronically, immersive 3D projection and intelligent interactive systems that can recognise the visitor’s age, sex and name! All this is providing new opportunities for the design of unique visitor attractions that interact with the visitor in real time.

We are seeing what was leading edge and, at times, prohibitively expensive technology, becoming available to the mass market. We’ve seen this happen with Kinect for the Xbox. A few years ago we were paying hundreds of thousands to engineer anything close to what the Kinect can do for a few hundred dollars.

I think it’s only a matter of time before we see the integration of such equipment within the leisure industry – from arcade games to sophisticated interactive immersive attractions – that uniquely respond to each visitor. It all looks very exciting.