People are working smarter, but they are also working harder so their free time is precious and often stressful.One of the great things about leisure parks is that it gives families a shared experience, which is amusing and fun.One of the people I admire most is Geoffrey Thompson at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. He’s a very busy, wealthy man, yet he goes to all the trade shows and presentations and couldn’t possibly come to Oakwood without his notebook. He lives for the business and has genuine passion.Jim Caldon, general manager: Pleasure Beach, Great YarmouthThis industry is weather-sensitive so the inland parks score against us when it rains, because they’ve already got their money from the gate. We don’t have an entrance fee, but customers can buy tokens for the rides. If the weather is bad they can get their money back, up to a point.In the early Nineties, a lot of leisure parks started to invest heavily in new rides In hindsight we shouldn’t have bothered. We bought a spectacular ride for £1m and it didn’t take tuppence.We’ve become more family-orientated.

The big inland parks are clinical, they don’t have the atmosphere we have and they certainly don’t have the music. I think Drayton Park do a first class job because they’ve got a big selection of rides that cater for everyone. Colin Bryan has invested a lot of money and because of his location he’s managed to recover it.Ted Lewin, marketing manager: Adventure Island, Southend-on-Sea, EssexPeople are beginning to realise that if you go a place like Chessington, you’ll certainly have a fabulous day out, but that will be just about it.The beauty of a seaside resort is that you don’t have to stay all day. Some families have a few rides, wander off down the sea front for lunch, then come back to us in the afternoon.We have a pay-if-you-play system, much fairer than an admission fee. We try hard to be like the larger leisure parks, yet we want to keep the atmosphere and ambience of a traditional fairground As an industry, we all have problems with employment It’s such a seasonal business we all rely on students. They have to be extensively trained, so if you employ them at Easter, you can’t afford to lose them during the summer.

We provide bonuses but there is no guarantee they will return.One of my favourite parks is Legoland. It’s superbly run, has a lovely layout and is in a beautiful setting I like Alton Towers as well. Both places make you feel safe, which is important.Michael Jolly, chief executive, The Tussaud’s Group: Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Chessington World of AdventuresHaving three leisure parks is undoubtedly an advantage. The public wants to be entertained to a high standard, which is more difficult for the smaller parks.We have to continually replenish our assets, which means spending significant sums to create new attractions. It all depends on the commitment of the investor and how interested they are in building the business.The two important areas are the need for high levels of safety, and commitment to training staff. We find more and more British people come back from Disneyland and want an experience more like that, which is largely due to the courtesy of the American staff.We are recruiting people, not for their qualifications, but for their personality This business needs enthusiastic people.