UK theme parks and other attractions will be in “serious trouble” if they are not open by July, according to Richard Mancey, managing director of Paultons Park in Hampshire.
In an interview with a British national newspaper, Mancey said that being ready to reopen meant not all staff could be furloughed.
“We have a skeleton crew at the park – we’ve got large grounds that need upkeep, but that’s a cost. We’re not a warehouse; we can’t just lock up and leave.”
The UK theme parks industry needs an extension to the government’s furlough scheme in order to keep them in business. Nevertheless the outlook is bleak, says Mancey, who is chairman of the British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions. He said that smaller parks have six weeks before their cash reserves run out.
“A lot of good family-run businesses will go to the wall If we don’t get open by the summer season. A lot will be in serious trouble, even the big parks.”
