Business GCSE Unit 1, A1

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Alton Towers Coursework.                                                        

A1

Background Information

Alton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire. It attracts around 2.8 million visitors per year. It is the 11th most visited theme park in Europe. Alton Towers opened in 1980 as a theme park and in the 1990’s it was purchased by ‘The Tussauds Group’. They added 3 rides to the park on opening, ‘The Corkscrew’, ‘Pirate Ship’ and ‘The Alpine Bob Sled Ride’. Over the years more rides were added and the theme park was heavily invested in. Alton Towers also have 3 hotels, a golf course, a conference centre, a spa and a water park. In 2005 Dubai International Capital bought Alton Towers when it purchased Tussauds for £800 million. In March 2007 The Tussauds Group was bought by Merlin Entertainments (MEG) for over £1 billion from Dubai International Capital. In July 2007 the theme park and resort was bought by Nick Leslau and his investment firm Prestbury who now lease the park back to Merlin Entertainments.

Alton Towers is know for its breath taking rides, and has 35 in total. The rides range from children’s froghoppers to extreme roller coasters. Alton Towers profits come mainly from families visiting the theme park and foreigners experiencing it when they’re on holiday. It is said to be the most popular and thrilling theme park in the UK. Alton Towers is in the tertiary sector, meaning they sell products e.g. food, sweets, souvenirs but also provide a service, which people pay for, e.g. the theme park. Alton Towers has a lot of competition, as all theme parks are often getting new rides to be better than other theme parks. I think Alton Towers competes well because it caters for all ages and provides things other theme parks don’t for example a hotel and spa. Alton Towers has been voted Britain’s biggest and best theme park, and hold the record for the most visited theme park in England. It is also the second biggest theme park in the world.

Good and Services Alton Towers Provide:

  • The theme park itself (rides)
  • Food Outlets
  • Water parks
  • Accommodation (3 hotels)
  • Well known Food Outlets (KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut)

Alton Towers also has customer services, where a help desk help customers in the case of being lost, loosing friends or loosing children. They also provide storage for visitors to put bags and belongings so they don’t have to carry them round.

Alton Towers also provide things to do within the hotel, for example Spas and Relaxation rooms. This is so you can have a rest from being at the theme park all day; alternatively for people who are unable to go on rides they offer a miniature golf course.

At the theme park they offer a variety of rides suited for all ages, there’s thrills for teenagers and adults, fun frights for the whole family and magic, young fun for kids.

 

Some of Alton Towers main attractions are their unique thrill rides:

  • Rita Queen of Speed
  • Air
  • Nemesis
  • Ripsaw

Alton Towers also provide goods to the public; these are things like Souvenirs (key rings, pens, pencils, clothing), food and drink. Alton Towers also have cameras on the rides, which take a picture when you get to a certain thrilling part of the ride, you can then buy the pictures or have them transferred onto a mug or into a key ring.

They also have games stalls and arcades, which just brings in more money for Alton Towers but is also fun and attracts an audience whilst they are waiting or having a break.

Marketing

There are many ways Alton Towers advertise their theme park and services, these are things like:

  • Adverts (TV, radio, cinema)
  • Promotions (direct to houses, via Merlin Entertainments Group)
  • Leaflets

Alton Towers use advertising a lot, this is to attract new customers but also older customers. Alton Towers are always putting on special offers and events to celebrate special occasions. They also offer different tickets like Family Ticket, Annual Pass and Parent Share pass (where one parent can use a ticket, and the other can use it after).

They also offer parents buggy hire, a safety child scheme and height wristbands, all to ensure the safety of visitors are the park.

Alton Towers offer discounts for large groups like foreign tourists and school trips, this is because they spend a lot of money on other goods Alton Towers offer. Alton Towers main ticket prices are £35 for adults, £17 for seniors and £26 for children aged 4-11.

Aims and Objectives

A mission statement is a short paragraph to show and remind staff what a business hopes and wants to achieve. It also shows what the business is about.

Alton Towers mission statement is: - ‘To dazzle our guests with the most captivating city centre attractions in the world and the most diverse and exciting portfolio of theme parks in Europe.’

An aim is a goal that a business would like to achieve. It usually involves something to do with making a profit, providing goods and services, surviving and expanding, maximising sales, improving the quality of products and services, making customers happy.

The aims Alton Towers have are:

  • To maximise sales and increase profit.

This means Alton Towers do what they can to sell as many tickets as possible to the theme park to get higher sales and increase their profit. They would do this by advertising special offers and events on things like the radio, television, cinema screens etc. They would also source low costing supplies. They do all these things so they can survive, pay their employees and make a profit.

  • To ensure existing customer base will remain loyal.

By this Alton Towers want to ensure older customers will return to the park. Alton Towers use questionnaires to ensure nothing is wrong with the park and to ensure the customers had a good day. On the questionnaires Alton Towers have put options for customers to write down email addresses, therefore they can contact them about special events and offers on at Alton Towers which will make customers return.

  • To attract new customers.

This means Alton Towers aim to attract new customers to the park and then have them return. To do this Alton Towers use advertisements such as local newspapers, billboards, cinema adverts, television. By doing this more people will notice Alton Towers and the opportunity for a good day out, therefore this attracts customers to the theme park and resort. When advertising Alton Towers offer something for every age to ensure the family there is something for them all to enjoy.

  • To ensure goods and services deliver ‘Magic Moments’.

This means Alton Towers aim to have their staff make customers days at the theme park and good and as magical as they can. Alton Towers would meet this aim by employing friendly, willing, imaginative people. Alton Towers also aim to make their rides the best they can be, and everything else sold within the park should be of a high standard.

  • To expand.

This means Alton Towers want to become more known and expand the park to attract the customers. They could expand by increasing goods and services, for example making a new ride, opening a new hotel etc. They could also sell a bigger variety of goods to the park. They could make more shops to sell their goods but most of all increase the size of the park and offer even more rides to different kinds of people.

  • To deliver Alton Towers vision all employees must perform our key values:
  1. Be able to make difficult decisions.
  2. To make sure that the customers are the heart and soul of the company.
  3. That staff feel they can make suggestions on how they can make the business better.
  4. Staff should always have a positive attitude and energy.

In this Alton Towers are saying that staff should be able to think about decisions and make the right one, but make a quick decision if put on the spot. The second key value is saying staff must make sure they are always putting customers needs first, for example they must put customers health and safety before anyone else’s. The third key value is making sure that staff feel comfortable about the business and feel they have their own say on how it could be improved. Finally the fourth key value is making sure staff are always polite and bursting with energy, making their customers feel welcome and happy.

SMART

Businesses use SMART objectives for themselves or for their products or services they are launching, they do it to show what they hope to achieve. They also do it to motivate employees and the business to reach a goal.

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Specific – This is where you have to make an objective and be very precise about what you are going to achieve.

Measurable - This means that they will be able to add up their sales and total their sale by the date.

Agreed – The objective has to be seen and agreed to by a board of directors.

Realistic – This means is the objective achievable in the time given and do they have the resources to achieve it.

Timed – This is where the business set a date for the objective to be completed by.

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