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Six Flags' new loyalty program is as much about collecting visitor data as it is about rewarding visitors for their habits.
Grant Martin, Skift | 6 years ago
Tourism
The new rewards program at Six Flags is designed to keep its already-loyal members engaged and satisfied enough to stay enrolled in a monthly membership. Will the theme park loyalty idea catch on with other operators?
Hannah Sampson, Skift | 6 years ago
Six Flags is going beyond the typical theme and water park offerings with kid-focused and adventure options in China, and it makes sense to bring those concepts to other markets. But it's also wise to make sure the parks are delivering what customers want before investing in building them elsewhere.
Hannah Sampson , Skift | 6 years ago
The CEO of Six Flags Entertainment said last month that the company wasn't stopping with 10 parks in China. He wasn't kidding.
Six Flags has been talking up this scenario for more than a year, so it will be interesting to see how the strategy plays out. Will more people opt for season passes that give them access to multiple parks, even if those parks are a few hours away from each other?
Six Flags is expanding overseas and looking to grow in its own back yard while selling visitors on higher-priced passes, a strategy that shows the regional theme park operator is trying to cover all its bases.
Six Flags is finding opportunity across China, with 10 parks now in the works — but will the company and its partners run into pushback from government officials who have recently voiced concerns about rapid theme park growth?
This development might be the worst-kept secret in theme park history. We're not sure what took Six Flags so long to seal the deal, but we do know the arrangement fits squarely into the operator's strategic goals — as long as everything goes according to plan.
Six Flags had a good year, but a look at the bottom line shows a benefit from tax reform and lower compensation expense. The company is focusing on improving its underlying business, and keeping profitable parks open year-round is likely to help.
There's not much theme park development in the United States, so growth has to come from somewhere. Six Flags sees a lot of potential in China and other destinations around the world.