Environmental Audit of Merlin Entertainment PLC

“Environmental Audit of MERLIN ENTERTAINMENT PLC” ABDUL HASSAN ­ 6022538 MOO2LON ­ Assignment II Submission Date ­ 15th December,2014.

Tutors ­ Mr.Jonathan Groucutt & Ms.Adaora Nwankwo­Onyiuke

SUMMARY The below report contains a detailed summary of Merlin Entertainment PLC. It is an entertainment and visitor attraction industry operating worldwide. The report contains a detailed analysis of the Entertainment and Attraction industry through Porters Five Force Model,Internal and External Analysis of Merlin Entertainment PLC through SWOT, Analysis of organization strategic direction using BCG and Ansoff Matrix and critical evaluation of organization strategies using SAFS method.It also consits of recommendations which will help the company to further strengthen its business operations and strategic plans for turning down it weakness and threats into Strengths and Opportunites.I have used Company’s website,Annual reports,Financial reports,News reports,Insights from websites and blogs to gather information about the Merlin Entertainment PLC business operations.The source of the websites and blogs have been mentioned in the reference page using Harvard Reference Format.

INTRODUCTION OF MERLIN ENTERTAINMENTS PLC: Merlin Entertainments PLC is the largest European entertainments company. The company's Headquarter is in Poole, Dorset in England. It runs around 100 attractions, 9 hotels and 3 holiday villages in 22 countries across 4 continents (Europe, North America, Australia and Asia).

The company's origin date back to 1979 when the first SEA LIFE Centre was opened in Oban, Scotland. Nicky Varney is the CEO of the company. Merlin Entertainments was formed in 1999 as a management buyout from Vardon plc.It acquired LEGOLAND Parks (2005),Gardaland (2006) and The Tussauds Group in 2007, the acquisations helped in increasing the sales and business operations of the group worldwide (Merlin, 2014).

The aim of the company is to deliver unique, memorable and rewarding experiences to millions of visitors across its growing estate and to become the worldwide leader in branded, location­based, family entertainment. The company’s strategy is to create a high growth, high return, family Entertainment Company based on strong brands and a portfolio that is naturally balanced against the impact of external factors (Merlin, 2014).

Some of the prominent entertainment companies worldwide are under its product belt they are LEGOLAND Resorts, Madame Tussauds, The Dungeon, Sea Life Aquariums, The Eye Brand, Sydney Aquarium, Sydney Wildlife World, Oceanworld Manly, Melbourne Aquarium, Falls Creek Alpine Resort, Hotham Alpine Resort, Otway Fly, Illawarra Fly, Busan Aquarium and Siam Ocean World and many more (Merlin, 2014).

The company’s biggest competitor is Walt Disney Park and Resorts. Although it has business operations worldwide and is a market leader in Europe it comes 2nd in terms of Visitor admission worldwide after Disney(Merlin, Annual Reports).

PORTER’S FIVE FORCE ANALYSIS of Visitor & Entertainment Industry:

1.1 Threat of new entrants: The Visitors Attraction and Entertainment Industry have high entry and exit barriers not everyone can be a part of the Industry. It needs huge amount of Financial and capital Investment. It is difficult to procure loans from bank as it is a huge investment and unless the Investor has been a part of a different Industry or has valuable assets he wouldn’t be able to apply for help from the banks. For Instance, Paramount Studios has proposed to open up a theme park known as Paramount London in Kent, United Kingdom. The company is spending around £2 billion for the construction of the park (Telegraph, 2013).

Government criteria and policies differ from country to country and unless the Investor is able to meet the criteria they will not be able to operate or start their business. Criteria can be in terms of Investment Capital,Environmental policies,Government regulation of the industry and many more.For Instance Environment policies such as usage of natural resources for running the attractions,allocation of Land for building and using of animals and mammals in the attraction resorts.Government regulation of the Industry in terms of operating the business,taxes,censorship,limitation for setting up the business.For Instance, It is difficult to start business operations in North Korea due to international conflicts between the western governments and North Korea.

There is an intense competition and rivalry among the existing players in the industry and it will be very difficult for a new entrant to sustain itself in the market as the existing players have control over the running of the Industry and huge resources in terms of Capital and assets(Land,Attraction rides and many more).

Sudden change in the economic downturn can affect the business operations of the entrant and can lead to shutting down of business. For Instance: Plans for constructing a park known as “Dubailand” in Dubai was shelved following the global financial crisis in 2008 (Telegraph, 2014). For the rest of the Five Forces analysis please refer to appendix 1.

Internal & External Analysis (SWOT) of Merlin Entertainment PLC:

2.1 Strength: Merlin Entertainments PLC is the largest European entertainments company. Merlin runs 100 attractions, 9 hotels and 3 holiday villages in 22 countries across four continents.Some of the prominent and famous entertainment attractions worldwide are under its control they are Sea life, LEGOLAND, Madame Tussauds,The Eye brand and many more.These brands have generated huge profits to the companies revenue and have worldwide brand presence (Merlin, 2014).

Merlin Magic Entertainment is the key to heart of business operations of Merlin Entertainment PLC. It is designated with the task of operating its key business operations and the six growth drivers in making of unique­in house creative and developing of resources and ideas. (Merlin, 2014).

The Company has a high product differentiation and offerings. It has categorized its products into two types Midway attractions and Theme Park resorts (LEGOland parks and Resort theme parks). Merlin Entertainment PLC has the rights to open the LEGOLAND parks worldwide. LEGO has a huge fan base and the existing parks are successfully and are generating good profits. (Telegraph, 2014).

Merlin has acquired prominent entertainment and recreational business in Asia Pacific region which is an emerging market.The company has business operations in Australia, New zealand, Malaysia, Thailand and Japan.These countries have huge market capital and have seen huge growth rate on return (Merlin 2014).

The company follows Cluster city strategy.All of its business are strategically placed at one popular locations in the city which will attract its customers and increase their brand awareness.For Instance in London, the three most popular attractions London eye,London Dungeon and SEA life Aquarium are adjacent to each other in the popular South Bank area (Merlin Annual Report,2013).

2.2 Weakness: Despite having huge product line offering ,business operations worldwide and being the largest entertainment and attraction company in Europe it is still behind Walt Disney Park and Resorts in terms of visitor admissions worldwide. With nearly 60 million visitors in 2013 Merlin continues to be the clear market leader in Europe and second only to Disney worldwide in terms of visitor admissions (Merlin Annual Report, 2013).

The company faces cut throat competition in terms of pricing and product offering from local and multinational visitor attraction companies worldwide.In North America it faces competition from Paramount Studios, Disneyland and Universal Studios. In Europe it faces competition from Compagnie des Alpes, PARQUE DE ATRACCIONES MADRID SA and Disneyland Paris.

Many of Merlin’s business are seasonal and extreme weather conditions at peak trading time could have an impact on business performance. (Merlin annual report 2007).

2.3 Opportunities: The company has acquired business in Asia Pacific region. Change in Economic conditions has increased the purchasing power and the advent of new customers in the

market. With the existing Eurozone crisis and decline of its market in Southern Europe, Merlin’s group strategy is now to tap into the emerging market of Asia Pacific and increase its customer base and profits.According to Sir John Sunderland(Non­Executive Chairman),the company has seen strong returns in the Asia Pacific region and this gives confidence for further expansion of the business(Merlin Annual Report 2013).

The company will be soon starting its business operations in Dubai which is a popular tourist attraction and visited by millions of visitors every year.The company will open its seventh largest LEGO park,scheduled to open in 2016 it will make way for the expansion of its business operations in the Middle East (Telegraph, 2014).

2.4 Threats: The company faces competition from upcoming entertainment and recreational parks.For Instance the upcoming Paramount London theme park in Kent, United Kingdom can be a huge setback for the Merlin Entertainments parks and resorts in Europe where it is a key player.Paramount park is bigger in size compared to Merlin Attractions, it will consist of Europe’s largest indoor water park,theaters,live music venues,attractions and many more.Merlin already faces cut throat competition from Disney Park and Resorts which is a popular tourist attraction worldwide.The company will see a huge decline in its profit and loosing of customers.

Sea Life one of the company’s key business faces criticism from the environmental group “The Captive Animals Protection Society” for acquiring marine creatures for entertainment purpose (CAPS,2013).The negative publicity and criticism can affect the

brand image of the Sea Life, which is one of the core business of Merlin Entertainment present worldwide.

Uncertain political environment and conditions can affect the running of the business.

For Instance political unrest in Thailand in 2014 affected the performance of the business and there was a drop in the number of visitors visiting (thisismoney,2014).

Ansoff’s Matrix:

Market penetration strategy­ Merlin Entertainment PLC uses this strategy for its existing business.For Instance some of the prominent Merlin Brands have been in United Kingdom since years and are in Maturity Stage.They are famous tourist attractions, such as Thorpe Park,Sea Life Aquarium, Madame Tussauds,London Dungeon,Warwick Castle,LEGOland and many more.Merlin has come up with a unique pricing strategy to attract its customers and to compete with competitors by introducing of Merlin Annual Pass.It can be used at all the Merlin attractions in United Kindom for unlimited entries and is cheaper in cost compared to buying tickets for Individual visits.The price of the Annual Merlin standard pass is £143 (Merlin Annual Pass,2014).

Product Development: Merlin Entertainment PLC uses this strategy for introducing of new products and services in its existing market to prevent its business from going into declining stage of product cycle and to increase its product offering for competing with its competitors.For Instance the company has recently introduced accommodation at 6 of its Resort Theme Parks in Thorpe Park,Warwick Castle,Chessington World of Adventures,Gardaland and Alton Towers.The strategy for introducing accommodation at these parks was to market

these resorts as a place for short break destinations and to compete with the hotel industry.

The company also uses a strategy known as cluster cities strategy where its key important brands are at nearby locations at important tourist locations.This helps in increasing the brand awareness and attract the customers to visit them as their nearby and also as they have package offers for all the attractions at a lower price.

Market Development: It uses its prominent brands to establish and start business in new markets.It has 5 midway chainable brands(Sealife,Madame Tussads,The Eye,The Dungeons and LEGO land Discovery centre).The company uses this midway brands which are popular to start up its business operations around the world.Since 2013, 23 midway attractions have been opened in 10 countries.They are cost effective to build and deliver good return on capital and steadly cashflow while strengthing and building the portfolio over the time.The company has currently has identifed 100 new potential locations and plans to deliver an average opening of 6­7 attractions an year (Merlin Entertainments,2014).

Diversification: Merlin Entertainment PLC has a diversified business model.It business are classified into three main cateogries.They are LEGO land Parks,Midway Attractions and Resort Theme Parks.There are varied products in the business models such as aquariums, zoos,wax musueums and thrill riding parks.Many of the companies business have been

acquired.Its strategic direction is to takeover and invest in diversified business attraction to attract customers and to have a varied product offering.

For Instance the company acquired Sydney Attractions Group and Living leisure Australia in 2012.The product portfolio of this group is different from its existing products such as Alpine ski resorts,Wildlife Parks and Treetop adventure.The company can use this new brand acquisitions in its European markets.

BCG MATRIX

Stars: The star brands of Merlin Entertainment PLC are midway attractions.They are LEGOland Parks, Sea Life,Madame Tussauds and the Dungeons.These brands are present worldwide and have high market share and market growth.

LEGOland parks: They were acquired from LEGOland due to the popularity and awareness of the brand worldwide.The company has license to open up LEGOland parks worldwide,currently there are 6 parks operating a new proposed park in Dubai is going to start its operation from 2015.The company plan is to open up a new LEGOland park every 3 years, the target markets for this plans are North America and Asia Pacific where the company plans to expand it further business expansion.The company saw a growth of 9.9% in the total no of visitors visited and increase in the revenue by 14.2% in the year 2013.

2013 2012 Growth Visitors (m)

11.5

10.5

+9.9%

Revenue (£m)

352

308

+14.2%

Underlying EBIDTA (£m)

127

113

+12.8%

Like for like revenue control growth

+5.3%

**(Merlin Annual Report,2013).

Madame Tussauds: It is a wax museum which has a global presence worldwide.It is one of the companies important midway attraction and due to the wax statues of prominent figures and celebrities the brand has a global presence and awarness.They are currently 15 Madame Tussauds museums present across the world.

Sea Life: Sea Life is one of the companies important midway attraction.It has a global presence,currently there are 44 sea life centres across the world and they are plans for further expansions.For Instance the company has recently acquired Turkuazoo aquarium in Turkey which will be rebranded as Sea Life and will start its operation in 2015.

The Dungeons: The Dungeons are present across 8 locations in Europe.The first Dungeon outside Europe has opened up in a park near San Francisco.

Cash Cows: These are companies with High Market share and Low Growth.The Cash Cow players of Merlin Entertainment PLC are Alton Towers and Thorpe Park.These are Merlin Entertainment two popular themes park in United Kingdom.

Alton Towers: It is UK’s no.1 theme park and is set in 500 acres of beautiful Staffordshire country side, boasting of two themed hotels and an indoor water park.It was opened in the year 1980.

Thorpe Park: It is UK’s second largest theme park located in London.It is a hit among teenagers and young adults who are looking for thrill adventures.

Both of these brands are present in United Kingdom and are in their maturity stage,they both generate huge revenues for the company.

Question Mark: These are companies with High Market share but low market growth.The company has acquired two key ski alpine resorts in Asia Pacific,2012. Which is an emerging market in Victoria,Australia.They are Falls Creek Alpine resort and Hotham Alpine resort.The two key business performed weakly due to very snowfall significantly (Merlin Annual Report,2013).According to a popular travel website both of these resorts are top ranked Alpine resort in Victoria region of Australia (Tripadvisor,Australia).

Dogs: These are companies in a declining market with low market share,due to the Eurocrisis the business of Merlin in Southern Europe has been affected.Gardaland Resort is Italy’s leading theme park located between Milan and Venice.It has seen a decline in its business operation and visitors due to the economic downturn.

Evaluating Strategy of Merlin Entertainment PLC using SAFS:

Suitability ­ The Organisation strategy is: “To create a high growth, high return, family entertainment company based on strong brands and a global portfolio that is naturally balanced against the impact of external factors.”

The company has set benchmarks and strategic plans to achieve it by strengthen and diversify its portfolio of nationality and internationally recognized premium brands.It has set six growth drivers for achieving it they are Growth of Existing Estates via Planned Investments,Strategic synergies,Resort Destination positioning,Roll out of midway attractions, LEGOland park development and Strategic acquisitions.

1. Growth of Existing Estates via Planned Investments ­ The company has regular planned investments in new rides,shows,themed areas at all attractions to maintain and enhance its product quality and to prevent the businesses from going into decline stage of cycle.For Example the company has recently has launched a 14­looping roller coaster at the Alton Towers.

2. Strategic synergies ­ The company tries to maximize its marketing strategy by the popularity of its brand.For Instance Merlin Entertainment PLC has introduced Merlin Annual Pass in UK which can be used at all of the Merlin Attractions for unlimited entries.This strategy helps in promoting of its smaller brands by

leveraging the usage of core brands popularity.It follows cluster strategy where all its prominent brands are located nearby at one strategic important location.

3. Resort Destination positioning ­ Earlier themes park used to consist of Rides and attractions,they are mostly located at far away places from the cities and customers used to stay in hotels.The company has repositioned its position as a short break destination by introducing of accommodation facilities and leisure activities at its themes park.For example the company recently opened a 250 rooms LEGOland hotel in LEGOland California,it was designed on the theme of LEGO world.This strategy helped in expansion of business in new areas and revenue streams and additional spending by customers.

4. Roll out of midway attractions ­ The company has five key midway attraction brands(Madame Tussauds,Sea Life,The Eye,The Dungeons and The LEGOland Discovery park) these brands have worldwide presence.According to Merlin, midway attractions are cost effective to build,delivers good return on capital and steady cash flow whilst strengthening and building the portfolio gradually over time.The company has identified 100 further potential rollout locations and plans to deliver an average of 6­7 locations per year.

5. LEGOland park developments ­ The company has acquire LEGOland parks from LEGO Inc.The popularity of the LEGO toys worldwide makes the LEGOland parks popular and potential for growth and opening up of new parks worldwide.In the last 3years the company has succesfully opened up two parks in Malayisa and Florida and is actively looking for new sites in Asia and North America.The

company has estimated there is potential to open upto 20 LEGOland parks worldwide and it intends to open a new LEGO land park on average of 2­3 year.

6. Strategic acquisition ­ The company uses this as a strategy for adding new brands,expanding into new geographies and supporting strategic growth.For Instance Merlin acquired Living and Leisure Australia in 2012 which had added 9 new sites to the growing portfolio of Midway Attractions in Asia­Pacific and created clusters of attractions in Shanghai and Bangkok.

Acceptability: Performance outcome can be assessed on the basic of three criterias return,risk and stakeholders reactions.

Return ­ The company had good returns and financial performances on the investments it had made in acquiring of new business.For Example Merlin Entertainment PLC acquired LEGOland parks in 2005 from LEGOLAND group as a part of its acquisition strategy, the company has license to open LEGOland parks worldwide.Since 2005,the company has reinvested and developed existing parks and has opened up two new parks in Malaysia and California.The company has plans to open up to 20 LEGOland parks around the world with a target rate of opening up a new park for every 2­ 3 years.There is ongoing construction of a LEGOland park in Dubai.The total revenue LEGOland parks generated in 2013 was £352 million, there was an increase in the revenue by 14.2% and the total no of visitors visited were £11.5 million.

Risk­ With business comes risks, not all acquisitions have been able to yield in good profits.The company’s recent acquisitions in Australia, were two Alpine Ski Resorts Mount Hotham and Falls Creek Alpine resorts.The resorts didn’t perform well up to the target rate,due to low snowfall significantly.The success of running the alpine ski resorts is on environmental conditions unless or until there is an increase in the snowfall it will be hard for the resort to attract the visitors.

Feasibility: Financial feasibility ­ The company revenue for the year 2013 was £1,192 million, it had an increase in the revenue by 10.9% comprising 6.7% for like for like growth, a £51 million contributions from new openings and acquisitions.Visitor rate grew by 10.7% during the year.There was deduction of £14 million in Net finance costs.

2013 £M 2012 £M Growth +/­ Change %

Revenue

1,192

1,074

118

+0.99%

EBIDTA

390

346

44

+12.8%

Operating profit

290

258

32

+12.3%

Net Finance cost

104

118

14

+12.0%

Profits before tax

186

140

46

+33.0%

Taxation

24

20

4

­18.1%

Net income

162

120

42

+35.6%

Post­tax expectation and non­trading items

17

44

27

+60.9%

Sustainability: Competitive advantage ­The company has a competitive advantage over its competitors in terms of diversification and varied business portfolio around the world.The company has key business operations and prominent brands in Asia Pacific,North America and Europe.Every attraction and resort has a unique concept and brand offering.For Instance LEGOland parks in california have LEGOland themed hotels,Thorpe Park has crash beds,Madame Tussauds has wax statues of celebrities and prominent personalities worldwide.To compete in terms of pricing the company has came up with a unique pricing strategy,introducing of Annual Passes which give unlimited entry to the Merlin Parks and Resorts this attracts the customers to visit the attractions as they are at lower prices.

The company has a cluster strategy where its key brands are placed at important locations of the city at nearby locations.For Instance in Central berlin, the company has recently opened Berlin Dungeon which is 200 metres from Sea Life.This expanded the berlin cluster to four important attractions Madame Tussauds,Berlin Dungeon,Sea Life and LEGOland Discovery centre.To attract the customers to visit all these locations the company offers a package pass to these locations at a cheaper price compared to price of individual visits due to nearby locations,varied offering and lower price this strategy works succesfully.(For the rest of the Sustainability factors, please refer to Appendix 2)

Conclusion Merlin Entertainment PLC is one of the worlds famous and prominent “Visitor Attraction Company”, it has its business operations present worldwide and has a unique product range offering for its customers.Its move to acquire diversified business portfolio has been successfully as all of its acquired midway attraction brands and parks are performing well and have been established worldwide with further plans for expansions.The company has identified upto 100 new potential places for opening up new businesses and plans to open around 6­7 attractions per year.

The companies strategic move to open its business operations in Asia Pacific and North America which are emerging markets and have huge growth potential will help in increasing its brand presence and business operations worldwide.This move will contribute to increase in its revenues,growth of the organization and achieving of companies strategic goal and vision that is to become the worldwide leader in branded, location based entertainment.

It’s unique product offering and worldwide presence makes it different from its competitors in terms of business operations and product offering.It is able to compete with competitors by acquiring diversified business brands and coming up with unique pricing strategy such as Merlin Annual Pass.It stragetic plan to reposition resorts and theme parks as a place for short term holiday destinations has led to creating of new business expansion opportunities in existing business and for generating additional revenues.

The companies conservation trust works for the welfare of sea life creatures and other animals and have been successfully able to breed extinct species and work with prominent conservation societies.

It faces uncertainty and risk from social,political and economic factors.It is trying to minimize these threats by changing its strategic directions from time to time and by acquiring of business in new markets.

Recommendation: Merlin Entertainment has a worldwide brand presence and has a diversified portfolio,despite all of this it still comes behind Walt Disney Park and Resorts in terms of visitor visits worldwide,this is due to high brand value and promotional strategy of Disney.Audience are exposed to Disney since they are kids in the form of cartoons these creates an everlasting impression about the brand in their mind.The same strategy Merlin can apply for their products by increasing its brand promotions.For Instance,the company can launch a LEGOland cartoon for the kids which will help in increasing the popularity of the brand among kids and adults.It should come up with advertisments which showcases its brands as many consumers are not aware of its product offerings.

The company strategy to expand its business operations in Asia Pacific should be met with caution as the region has uncertain social,political and economic factors and it can have adverse effect on the business operations.For Instance the Bangkok crisis affected its business operations for a while.

It should make change in it administration departments,by appointing division heads for North America and Asia Pacific market as it plans to further expand its business operations in this markets.

Strengthen the business operations in European market by increasing its brand presence,innovating in terms of product offering and facilities to counter the threat from the upcoming competitors.

APPENDICES Appendix 1: 1.2 Threat of substitute products: There is high risk of threat from substitute products in the Visitor attraction & Entertainment Industry.As there are many alternative recreational activities available for the customers to enjoy and it is hard for the Industry players to keep a control on the other entertainment industry alternatives.Example: Instead of going to an Amusement park, the customer can go to a movie, adventure sports or any other activity he is interested in.To attract the customers and to compete with the substitute product, companies try to come up with offers, discounts and new product offerings from time to time.For Instance: Walt Disney Paris ticket can be used for visiting twice.Merlin Inc offers Merlin Pass through which one can access 31 attractions of Merlin at any time of the year.

Industry leading players such as Disney Land and Merlin Entertainment have come up with a unique strategy to turn the threat from the substitute products as an opportunity for starting up new business and increase their product offering.Earlier amusement parks used to consists only of rides and attractions,but now they consists of Hotels,Restaurants,Movie theaters, Golf parks,Fitness centres and many more.

1.3 Power of buyers:

There is a high bargaining power for buyers in the entertainment industry as they have various alternative offering for recreation. For Instance the buyer can choose from different forms of entertainment activities such as going to a cinema, golf, bowling and many more instead of going to an amusement park or visitor attraction.The influence of choosing an recreational activity sometimes might be due to travelling distance,price,or experiencing it for the first time.For Instance it takes hour and half to travel to Thorpe Park from Central London the total expenditure for travel and ticket would be £70, I personally can’t afford to go to Thorpe Park every time as it is expensive instead of going to Thorpe I would rather choose to go for an other activity which is nearby and inexpensive.

Companies try to reduce their prices and come up with unique product offering and exhibits to attract the customers. Sometime the strategy of the company works but sometimes it’s hard to do so. For Instance a ticket to Thorpe Park costs around 40 pounds and a ticket to a movie at O2 arena costs 10 pounds.

1.4 Power of suppliers: There is high bargaining power for suppliers in the industry as they are few players in the market who create the attraction found in most of the theme parks around the world.

They are Bollinger & Mabillard, Intamin, Vekoma, Arrow, Premier Rides, The Gravity Group, and S & S Power. Hence it gives them an upper hand to influence the pricing of

their products and services due to the lack of the manufactures in the industry. (mpierson18, 2011).

There is a trade union for Visitor attraction & Entertainment Industry, IAAP (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions).It is the largest international trade association for permanently situated amusement facilities worldwide.The aim of the organization is fair trading,improving the quality and efficiency of the industry and work for the benefit of the suppliers in the industry (IAAP, 2014).

1.5 Industry competitors: There is intense rivalry among the existing players in the industry, companies face cut throat competition and come up with varied product offering and services to attract its customers.The top three visitor and entertainment attraction industry players worldwide are Walt Disney Attractions, Merlin Entertainment PLC and Universal Studios Recreation Group.Every company has a unique feature which makes it apart from its competitors. For Instance Walt Disney Park has Wishes nighttime spectacular and rides based on Disney characters and stories, Thorpe Park by Merlin Entertainment PLC has Swarm winged rollercoaster and Universal Studios Orlando has Marvel Super Hero island.

Appendix 2: Economic sustainability ­ With the ongoing crisis in Europe, the company has shifted it business operations strategy in new countries.The company is focusing now on opening of new business operation in Asia Pacific region and North America,both the

regions have huge potential for economic growth and development.The company has acquired prominent travel and leisure brands in Asia Pacific region which is an emerging economy and there is a growing wealthy middle class enjoying improving wealth and living standards which has lead to opening of a new market.It has also started its business operations in North America which has a huge growth potential and demand for entertainment and recreational activities.

Environmental sustainability­ The company operates world’s prominent aquarium around the world through its brand Sea Life and also zoos in UK and Australia.To care for the welfare of the sea life creatures and mammals,the company has set up two trusts,Sea Life Marine Conservation Trust and “Breed Rescue,Protect” .

Sea Life Marine Conservation ­Sea Life has been a pioneer in the rearing of seahorses and has successfully reared nine different species which are critically endangered and are facing threat from extinction.Each year the companies,Seal Sanctuaries rescue and care for injured and rescued seals and eventually return them to wild.The company has two seal sanctuaries in Gweek and Oban.

“Breed,Rescue,Protect”­ It is a global initiative programme that works for conservation and welfare work around the world.The company has been able to successfully breed over 70 different species and over 6,200 individuals animals bred.

List of references: 1. Company Websites: http://www.merlinentertainments.biz/ http://www.merlinannualpass.co.uk/Default.aspx http://www.merlinentertainments.biz/financial­reports (2013,2012,2009). http://www.merlinentertainments.biz/strategy http://www.legoland.com/ http://www.iaapa.org/ https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/ 2. Nick Sam,The Top 50 Theme Parks in the World[Online],Theme Park Tourist,Available:http://www.themeparktourist.com/features/20140228/16441/top­ 50­theme­parks­world?page=4 [accessed 22nd November 2014] 3. Merlin Entertainment bares plans for Legoland Dubai[Online],Khaleej Times,Available:http://www.khaleej times.com/biz/inside.asp?xfile=/data/uae business/2014/October/uaebusiness_October212.xml&section=uaebusiness [accessed 24th November 2014] 4. The Global Attraction Attendance Report 2012[Online],Aecom.com,Available: http://www.aecom.com/deployedfiles/Internet/Capabilities/Economics/_document s/2012%20Theme%20Index%20Combined_1­1_online.pdf [accessed 25th November 2014]

5. mpierson18,Porters 5 Forces in Theme Park Industry[Online], http://mpierson18.blogspot.co.uk/ [accessed 12th October 2014] 6. Australia: Ski Australia|Where’s Best ? [Online], http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Travel­g255055­c167258/Australia:Ski.Australia.W heres.Best.html [accessed 5th December 2014] 7. Ashley Armstrong, Merlin Entertainment feels the effects of Bangkok unrest [Online],Telegraph.co.uk,Available:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbyse ctor/retailandconsumer/leisure/11267140/Merlin­Entertainments­feels­effects­of­ Bangkok­unrest.html [accessed 12th October 2014]