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Universal Orlando Resort
Visitor Management"
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Name: Mary Claire Agati"
Lecture: Visitor Management
Lecturer: Ms. D.Lykoudi
Submission date: 20/3/2016"
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CONTENTS
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Visitor management .3
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Universal Orlando .3"
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Map .4
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SWOT Analysis .6
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Marketing Mix 6
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USA PESTLE Analysis .7
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Competitors 8
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6xA 8"
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Porters 5 forces ..9

Visitor Flow ..10

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Cohens Classification 10
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Plogs classification ..10
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Problems .11
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Suggestions 11"
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Conclusion ..12"
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Reference list .12"
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Visitor Management"
Visitor management defines the practice of monitoring, welcoming and
processing guests at attractions, worksites and other facilities. By gathering
information from tourist flows a visitor management system can record the
usage of the facilities by specific visitors and provide facts about visitors (e.g.
nationality, age group etc.). It plays an essential role in providing funding and
business opportunities, in protecting the ecological sustainability of protected
areas and enabling visitors to obtain moments to be remembered throughout
their whole life. The aim of visitor management however is not only to
observe visitors and report about them, but it is also the management in
dealing with the activities and visitor flows that could cause an impact against
the environment since protected areas attract an increased amount of people
bringing too much pressure and forcing protected areas to open up more
space to the public. Since employees are the number one key of success for
each company/ business/ facility in the world, visitor management is really
important to employees since it provides a safe and comfortable workplace
environment being that employees feel more comfortable knowing that any
guests or strangers have been processed and screened thought a visitor
management system."
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Universal Orlando
The Universal Orlando Resort, currently known as Universal Orlando is a
theme park resort in Orlando, Florida. The park was founded on June 7 1990
and is wholly owned by the NBCUniversal (an american media and
entertainment company involved in the marketing and production of
entertainment, news,products and services to a global customer base). The
park is the largest resort in Orlando, Florida and the second largest resort
after Walt Disney World employing about over 1900 people. The park
features attractions and theme areas based on pop-culture icons, Hollywood
blockbuster films and hit television shows and covers an area of 107 acres. It
consists of two theme parks (Universal Studios Florida and Island of
Adventure), a night time entertainment complex (Universal city walk Orlando)
and four Loews Hotels (Hard Rock Hotel, Cabana Bay Beach Resort, Loews
Royal Pacific Resort, Loews Portofino Bay Hotel)."
The original theme park in the resort opened on June 7, 1990 as a theme
park that lets visitors Ride the movies consisting of eight themed areas :
Hollywood, Production Central, New York, San Francisco, Diagon Alley/
London, World Expo, Woody Woodpeckers kid zone and Springfield. The
themes in the resort are targeted at making visitors feel like they are in a
movie set with rides. shows and attractions inspired by popular movies,
television show, as well as music productions. Throughout the year visitors
get a variety of special events, themed shopping and dining, and even a
chance to witness a film crew at work. In May 1999 the Universal Islands of
Adventure was established consisting of seven islands theming different
adventure types with a Port of Entry main start point. The seven islands are
themed as: Toon Lagoon, The lost continent, The wizarding world of harry
potter, Jurassic Park, Seuss landing and the Marvel super hero island. In
1999 the Universal City Walk Orlando opened and was constructed over the
parking lot and entrance of the previous mentioned paragraph featuring
dining venues, night clubs, shopping, an AMC movie theatre and a blue man
group show (a art performance company known for its creative stage
productions). Visitors first walk via the moveable sidewalks over Universal
Boulevard into City walk. From there visitors had the choice to visit either the
Islands of Adventure or the Universal Studios Florida. In 1977 Wet n Wild was
founded by George Millay who is also the founder of the SeaWorld. The Wet
n Wild located at the intersection of international Drive and Universal
Boulevard features eighteen water slides and attractions, some include: The
surge, disco H20 and the bomb bay. However, on December 2016 the Wet n
Wild will shut down and will be replaced by the Volcano Bay park."

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Map
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Map view of resort"
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Map view guide to rides"
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Map with ancillary services"
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Swot analysis"
A swot analysis is a technique used by a business in order to identify and
understand its internal strengths and weaknesses and its external
opportunities and threats helping in constructing a sustainable niche in their
market. This technique can also be used by a company to find out about
another company because before setting up any business type its is essential
to learn about who the neighbouring businesses are, which areas are they
weak in, what their strengths are and what opportunities they may have for
the future. The main strengths of Universal studios are that it is one of the
most visited theme parks in the US reaching to a total number of more than 5
million visitors annually, the park is a excellent reputed brand worldwide
operated by Universal Parks and resorts, it is located over a large area
including 6 different theme parks which feature some of the most famous
characters (e.g. Simpsons, Marilyn Monroe, Popeye etc.). The main
weaknesses of the park are that instead of having more rides and roller
coasters it has a limited amount of them and is dependent more of the
featured characters in the park for its marketing. The main opportunities are
that a renew ride will be recently opening based on the movie Despicable me
hoping to attract more visitors, both the annual event and shows held
annually attract a great amount of audience, an easy advantage can be taken
on because the theme of the park is very popular having a huge fan follower
amount, and that by offering various promotional offers (annual passes,
multiple visit passes) and by introducing new attractions continuously the park
can attract more visitors. The main threats of the park however are that it
operates in a very competitive environment facing great threats from its sister
theme parks ( islands of adventure and city walk) and that the park
continuously receives constant comparisons with the disney park due to its
proximity of Wlat Disneys Magic kingdom."
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Marketing Mix"
A marketing mix is used by an organisation to describe a variety of choices
made in the whole process of bringing a service or product into the market
making important decisions leading to a marketing plan. Universal Studios
mission statement : As the premiere product facility on the East Coast, our
focus is on the attention and the integrity towards exemplary production
services. We remain constant in our commitment to ensure our reputation off
extending Universal Orlando support, vendors and alliances to exceed any
and every expectation our client may have. Meaning that its objective is to
give visitors the experience of being inside the movies.
The product before was the Universal studios of Florida, however because
the park faced an unsuccessful opening, the the product was then changed to
Universal studios Orlando featuring luxurious hotels, golf courses, rides and
night time entertainments. Orlando Florida known to be a place for booming
economy in the state of Florida, Orlando Florida was the place, since there
was a rapid increase in tourism as well as the labor force making it the perfect
environment to construct a theme park as both a residence and tourism
alternative to Disney Land. In order to promote and differentiate from that of
Disney, Universal studios Orlando boosted its attractions creating attractions
such as the universal city walk, luxurious hotels, creating special events for
example, the halloween horror night, and by offering lower prices thane what
Disney offers. The park promotes its products and services via commercials
and billboards within Orlando, Florida, and once the people visit the park, the
product is delivered by service via the spectacular shows and rides. "
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PESTLE analysis of the USA
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A PESTLE analysis is tool used by a company in order to monitor analyse its
macro environmental factors which cause an impact to their organisation. In
addition, the tool is also used to track the environment the organisations is
operating in and the planning to launch a new product/ service. All visitors or
travellers as USA, north America has the largest amount of total visitor growth
with 14 million visitors, for their main destinations mainly travel for pleasure,
education and business. Traveler spending in the USA is mainly in travel
accommodations and transportation which has recently increased by 7.1%.
USA has built over the years an effective rule of law as well as having a
strong democratic setup. The country has been recognised as the oldest
democracy in the world and the leading superpower in the world enjoying
huge political and economical influences over national and global policy
making. The USA is known worldwide for it mixed economy and for being
ranked the worlds largest national economy with a GDP of over $16.760
trillion with a global currency around the world. Their economic system is well
developed since it garters all its strength from its services and manufacturing
industries and because it is a huge attractive country for foreign investors.
However, in 2009 a economic recession affected both the the economy and
unemployment rates, but it was not too long until the economy bounced back
in to being stable. Resembling most countries, US faces an ageing population
problem leading to labour shortages and increased tax rates for the future.
The health care and education system in USA however is one of the best in
the world, in addition USA faces some increased illegal immigration with more
than 11.7 million people living illegally in the USA increasing the racial
discrimination risk. The United States is one of the top countries in the world
with advanced modern technology (e.g. nuclear weapons, infrastructure,
laptop computers, movie projectors, broadband internet access etc.). In the
US, protecting an organisations brand or property must be prioritised by
registering for a trademark and patent protection. "
All around US areas of wilderness have been established in order to develop
the endangered species Act pressuring the US to open their first national
park."In addition, the US has a United States environmental law concerning
the legal standards to improve the natural environment and protect the
human health of the US."
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Competitors
Universal Studios Orlando, has three main competitors. Their first and main
competitor is of course the famous globally known Walt Disney Company (an
American multinational mass media and entertainment business with
headquarters at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California founded on
1923 by Walt Disney, with a revenue of US$52.46 billion as of 2015), the
second is the CBS corporation (an american mass media corporation based
on television production, commercial broadcasting and publishing founded on
1971 with a revenue of US$15.284 billion as of 2013) and lastly, Fox filmed
entertainment Group (an american entertainment industry founded on 1985,
operating mainly on cable network programming, filmed entertainment.
television broadcast networks, and television station with a revenue of US$
13.28 billion as of 2012)."
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6xA
Universal Orlando Resorts two theme parks offers its visitors over fifty of the
worlds most spectacular and enjoyable attractions, from four dimensional
attractions, to exciteful water rides and to some of the most heart pounding
roller coasters each giving you an experience of the greatest films and
characters of all time. The park can be accessed from the Orlando
International Airport ,from 1-4 Eastbound (Disney/Lake Buena Vista) and from
1-1 Westbound (Downtown Orlando). Each have follow signs into Universal
Orlando's parking garage or to one of the three hotels in the resort. In
addition, public transport can also be used which stops in the Universal city. A
Free universal Studios shuttle bus is also available across the subway
stations which takes you to the main entrance of Universal Studios Hollywood
and City Walk Hollywood running 7 days a week with approximately 10-15
minutes pickups until the park closes. The resort has an universal express
unlimited pass with different prices according to the age groups used
unlimited number of times for rides and attractions, there is also a universal
express pass which is used one time per ride only at rides and attractions
again with different prices based on age groups, and lastly there is a bundle
withe theme park tickets where you can get an admission to both theme
parks and a universal express unlimited rice access in order to skip queue
lines. The amenities of the resort include : wireless internet throughout"
the whole resort, ATM machines, currency exchange and check cashing
services, star service (VIP/extra charge for a more comfortable experience),
parking, smoke zone areas, and Hertz rental car services. The resort has also
available vacation packages, two of them include a 2 park getaway (where
the visitor selects his/her hotel choice and can add theme park admission to
enjoy both of Universal Orlando's theme parks), and a Halloween Horror
Nights 26 hotel and ticket package (where the visitor enjoys hotel
accommodations, admission to two events, and a park to park daytime
admission for both theme parks). There are a variety of activities that can be
done during a visit in the resort, some include: accommodation (e.g. Hard
Rock hotel, Nearby hotels, Onsite hotels etc.), shopping ( the resort contains
more than sixty on site shopping venues), dining ( the resort contains 50
great restaurants), events (seasonal event include: Rock the universe,
halloween horror nights etc.), nightlife ( movie theatre, bars and nightclubs)
and of course the spectacular rides (the resort holds more than 25 rides). The
resort also has ancillary services. The resort offers assistive listening devices,
and guidebooks for visitors with disabilities, telecommunication devices for
the deaf, the queues and shopping and dining facilities can be accessed
easily for guests using wheelchairs, accommodation for on site hotel visitors
with disabilities, and attraction scripts with large fonts are available for guests
with vision disabilities."
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Porters five forces"
The Analysis of Porters five forces assumes that there are five factors
determining the competitive power of a company during any type of business
situation. Since Universal Studios Orlando has been able to fins a niche
within the industry, the entrance barriers are logically very high increasing the
companys ability in expanding during a long term period developing with the
help of the finance, research and development and marketing departments.
The bargaining power of buyers is relatively high in both the entertainment
and service industry, meaning that customers are over control with power as
a big amount of potential customers are needed to keep the resort alive. The
suppliers of the resort are governed by a few companies as the resort is
operating in a unique and highly differentiated industry with different
changeable costs. The products and services in the resort are moderate
placing price controls on many product lines. Lastly, Universal Studios
Orlando must continuously establish new rides and attractions to competet
with its rivals and maintain its position in the top most visited theme parks in
the world."
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Visitor flow"
The most popular question asked by visitors to the resort before planning
their vacations is what is the best day of the week to visit Universal Orlando.
The resort advices visitors mainly to plan their visit ahead and purchase
tickets in advance in order to ensure an enjoyable and positive experience,
however, it is said that around 90 percent of visitors still dont plan their visits,
causing a lot of queues in waiting times (ticket sales counters during common
busy days are huge frustrating other visitors). In addition, the season a visitor
also chooses to visit can also be a factor which affects the crowd levels
throughout the park. The resort advices visitors to visit when the crowds are
moderate and not when the the crowds are small in order to ensure that there
will be people around to maintain the stability of the exciting environment.
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Cohens classification
Cohens classification of a tourist is based on the theory that tourism
combines the need for the security of familiar reminders of home with the
curiosity to seek out new experiences. The Universal Studio resort visitors are
mainly classified as both the organised and individual mass tourists. The
families / locals / educational trips from all around the world which have
booked their tickets in advance from tour operators and purchase a
vocational package since it is cheaper and that these visitors have a certain
amount of control of their vocational trip and still book their tickets through a
travel agency."
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Plogs classification
In 1973, an american researcher named Stanley Plog established a theory in
order to classify tourists based on the relation between the type of holiday
they chose, and their personalities. Since the resorts target group is
youngsters and families and tourists from around the world The Universal
Studio Resort visitors are classified as follows, The parents/ adults which
accompany children to the park or have no children prefer a heavily
structured itinerary so that they know what to expect, safety and security 9s
very important for this group as they guide the youngsters, and to stay in
typical tourist accommodations and eat at family type restaurants. The
youngsters however are classified as allocentric since they are in a young
age seeking new experiences and adventure in a variety of activities, not
committed to a structured itinerary and would rather have the freedom to
explore an area."
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Problems & Incidents"
Universal Orlando Resort is a theme park meaning that it is supposed to
entertain all people,but sometimes it turns out to be the opposite. The resort
has experienced plenty amounts of problems and incidents. In the year of
2009, an employee was hit by a train moving at fifty five miles per hour during
a test run while walking in a restricted area underneath the Dueling Dragons
coaster attraction causing the victim to achieve multiple injuries on the head.
Some serious incidents faced in Universal studios resort include : In 2004, a
woman named Leslie Killer of age thirty four suffered from a heart attack
while riding the Incredible Hulk coaster.Her friends and relatives however
mentioned that she had no previous signs of heart condition and that she was
in a well maintained shape. In the same year, a man of age thirty nine visiting
the mummies curse fell four feet off the loading platform while trying to step
into the vehicle, as a result he died due to severe injuries to his head. In 2011
a tourist with eye sight problem on one oh his eye was injured when an object
hit him in the eye while riding Dragon challenge. As a result, the tourist
completely lost his eye sight making the attraction close for less than 24
hours until the ride was checked and was clear that it was safe. In 2002, a
woman fell off the stage in fear after being frightened by an on stage monster
while participating in a show and in 2007, a woman was pulled into a dark
alley while asking directions to the Revenge of the Mummy attraction and was
brutally raped by an unknown. In addition, the resort still faces large queues
in both the attractions and ticket boots as well as excessive crowds
throughout the resort causing staff frustration, visitors who paid in advance
frustration, and damaged and dirty areas."
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Suggestions"
If i would put myself in Universal studio managers shoes i would make fast
suggestions for the problems and issues faced during the recent years. As a
manager, I would create more rides in order to attract visitors in other park
locates too in order to avoid queues, promoting advanced ticket purchases
and packages with lower prices to encourage more visitors to plan in advance
lowering the waiting queues throughout the park, retest the rides in controlled
experiments in order to see if they can handle every potential situation that
can be faced during the future, train staff into treating customers in a right
helpful and polite manner in order to maintain a good company reputation,
check if any attraction contributes in health and safety risks for both adults
and youth, hire more cleaning staff in order to keep the resort environment
clean and lastly, place more security staff and security cameras to monitor
each areas for any violent attacks."
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Conclusion"
Everybody is concerned with security around the world. A successful visitor
management plan requires both quantitative and qualitative knowledge of an
organisations visitor activities and numbers taken part in the specific area.
Influencing visitor behaviour and managing visitor movements are essential
indicators of developing and maintaining a sustainable tourism. By managing
visitor flows a company can minimise the negative effects on the local
community and maximise their opportunity for benefits. Through the use of
monitoring and researching business owners ca"
n rest assured that they know who is coming and going throughout their
doors."
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References"
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1) Erin Cullum. 2016. 10 Crazy Things You Never Knew About Universal
Orlando. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.popsugar.com/smart-living/
Universal-Studios-Facts-37530944#photo-37530944. [Accessed 21 March "
16]."
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2) Jacob Shelton.[ND]. Universal Studios Horror Stories. [ONLINE] Available
at: http://www.ranker.com/list/universal-studios-deaths/jacob-shelton?
format=SLIDESHOW&page=9. [Accessed 21 March 16]."
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3) Jason Cochran. 2013. Orlando Do's and Don'ts | T+L Family. [ONLINE]
Available at: http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/strategies-orlando-dos-
and-donts. [Accessed 21 March 16]."
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4) Mind Tools. [ND]. The Marketing Mix and the 4Ps of Marketing. [ONLINE]
Available at: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_94.htm.
[Accessed 21 March 16]."
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5) Pestle analysis. [ND]. What is PESTLE Analysis? A Tool for Business
Analysis. [ONLINE] Available at: http://pestleanalysis.com/what-is-pestle-
analysis/. [Accessed 21 March 16]."
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6) Wikipedia. [ND]. Marketing Mix. [ONLINE] Available at: https://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_mix. [Accessed 21 March 16]."
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7) Wikipedia. [ND]. Universal Orlando. [ONLINE] Available at: https://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Orlando. [Accessed 21 March 16]."