Thorpe Park SWOT analysis

By John Dudovskiy
January 2, 2014

Thorpe Park SWOT analysisThorpe Park is one of the most popular theme parks in the UK and it belongs to Merlin Entertainments Group, the world’s second biggest visitor attraction operator with more than 30 million visitors annually and about 13,000 employees (Merlin Entertainment Group, 2013, online). Merlin Entertainments Group management have specified its mission statement as ‘The delivery of memorable experiences to our millions of guests underpinned by the very highest Health & Safety standards’.

Besides Thorpe Park, Merlin Entertainments Group portfolio includes a range of famous entertainment brands such as Legoland, Chessington World of Adventures, Madame Tussauds, Heide Park, The London Eye, Warwick Castle, Sea Life, Alton Towers, Gardaland, and London Dungeons (Merlin Entertainment Group, 2013, online).

SWOT analysis can be used in order to represent relevant secondary data in an appropriate format to assist in decision-making. SWOT analysis can be explained as a “review that helps planners compare internal organisational strengths and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats” (Boone and Kurtz, 2013, p.46).

The following table illustrates Thorpe Park SWOT analysis

Strengths

  • Greater ranges of ages of target customers (not only children)
  • A  wide range of rides
  • Effective website design
  • World-famous rides such as SAW, STELTH, and COLOSSUS
 Weaknesses

  • High level of seasonality
  • Geographical location not far from Chessington World of Adventures and Windsor’s Legoland
  • Expensive prices
Opportunities

  • Introduction of new, innovative rides
  • Increasing ranges of services
  • Formation of strategic collaborations with other companies in catering and entertainment industry
 Threats

  • Injuries to customers due to technical or other faults
  • Further increasing influence of indirect competition – video games
  • Negative impacts of relevant government legislations

 

References

Boone, L.E. & Kurtz, D.L. (2013) “Contemporary Marketing” Cengage Learning

Merlin Entertainments Group (2013) Available at: http://www.thorpepark.com/misc/merlin-entertainments.aspx

 

 

 

Category: SWOT Analyses
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