Alexandre Lair, Festyland reopens on the right date for the first time since 2019…
The park reopens the first weekend in April. But in 2020, there was a lockdown, and in the spring of 2021, high-capacity tourist sites were closed. However, April is our third biggest month with school holidays. April-May-June represent 40 to 50% of our turnover. Two seasons cut off from these three months is a lot. There, finally, there is no problem of dates, no gauge and fewer constraints. It’s more freedom and more life!
Was the public there for this first weekend?
The weather changed five or six times on Saturday April 2. We even had snow in the afternoon! It interfered with visits. We thank all the more those who came! By talking with people, we found regulars, even subscribers to the park. There were also quite a few teenagers. Groups of friends, more than we expected. Over the weekend, we will have welcomed around 1500 people. As they say in the report cards, it’s encouraging, especially given the weather.
Visitors discovered something new: the Valley of the Dinosaurs. However, Festyland had not planned to innovate this year?
It happened at the last minute. The first idea was to resume a normal life in the park. And then, we couldn’t resist the urge to be creative. We had a few dinosaurs in one area of the park. They were underutilized. There, we have created a space dedicated to this historical theme that is also Norman. We take the visitor back 150 million years to a decorated, very green universe, with sound, with the cries of dinosaurs, sounds of the forest, special effects. A volcano has even been reconstituted. The visitor wanders freely in this space. Five new dinosaurs several meters tall have arrived, which makes us nine. There’s so much more to come in the coming weeks.
If Festyland allows itself this novelty in a year that did not foresee any, does this mean that the park has managed to come out of the crisis in good health?
We have given ourselves the means to do so despite two complicated seasons. We have been very careful and managerial, seeking to secure the company and the employees. As much as we operated almost normally during our opening periods during the crisis, we made efforts during the closure. There are several levers: confining oneself to security and regulatory compliance expenses, giving up on various improvements, living on stocks, adjusting communication budgets… It is the multiplication of small actions that today makes it possible to have distanced the peril. In view of the efforts made by each department, it was possible to relaunch innovation. It is now necessary to resume a normal life to absorb the problems.
Does the Festyland park aim to repeat a season as before the crisis?
In 2019, we welcomed 225,000 visitors. In 2020, I don’t remember how bad it was. I think I preferred to forget (laughs). In 2021, it was 130,000, but over four months instead of seven. This year, it would be good to find the attendance of 2019. Just a return to normal in fact! When you run a family structure, you have a great affection for the company. When she is well, so are we. There, we reopen on the right date, we are very happy. We take advantage of our achievements. And we will do even better when we have had a good season.
Do you fear a return of measures while the epidemic is still there?
Unlike 2020, there are important tools, which help to live with the virus: vaccination, the mask, the gel, the reflexes of barrier gestures. In addition to that, the park is in the open air, people wander there without remaining static in the same place. If the situation deteriorated sharply, there might be the return of the pass, which would allow us to continue without having to close. In short, we are better armed and prepared. Of course, the crisis has taught us to be cautious. We want to avoid false joys. But we are optimistic. The park is looking to the future. It will be open on Wednesdays and weekends until Spring Break, when we will be open daily. As soon as there is no school, we are there. And finally, we are open from the first weekend of April until the last of September. It’s our return to normal life.
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