Return on investments in seven to ten yearsDeputy General Manager of Petroland aquapark, Samuel Slemender, says that a return on initial investments can be made after seven to ten years. The Backi Petrovac complex opened in 2012 and the possibility of construction of an indoor section has been considered since. The plan has been put on hold once again, however. Instead, they intend, as our interviewee says, to invest in accommodation capacities.
Slemender clarifies that two thirds of the revenues come from the tickets, whereas the rest is earned through sale of food, souvenirs etc.
What Petroland lacks is accommodation capacities, which the management will work on in the future, our interviewee adds. The new cycle of investments entails the construction of dressing rooms, bungalows, an Olympic pool, two new waterslide towers... This investment cycle will be divided into three stages, the first of which should start as soon as the local self-government issues the necessary permits.
In order for old visitors to keep coming back, new features need to be introduced all the time, Slemeder explains. He confirms that they have considered an indoor aquapark, but that this is a big investment.
– The project exists, but this is a serious investment, which entails not just closing down the pool, but also adequate air conditioning and heating. It is not simple for indoor aquaparks to operate in the winter period, when temperatures are below zero. All this means more expenses – Slemender said.
Visits by foreigners on the riseInitially, around 80% of Petroland's visitors were local tourists, whereas around 20% were foreigners. Now it's different, they say, as 60% of the tourists come from abroad, whereas around 40% come from Serbia.
– For a few years now, we have been cooperating with agencies from eastern Europe – the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia... Tourists from this countries always make a stop at our aquapark, as the road they have to travel to get to the seaside is a long one. Our position enables us to have a large number of tourists from Croatia and Romania – Samuel Slemender explains.
New aquaparks soonRunning an aquapark requires a lot of money and it often happens that, after initial enthusiasm, many of them give up or put the investment on hold until “better times” come along. In the past period, this has happened to the
Trgogradnja consortium, which planned to build an aquapark near Nis, along with Hotel Nais. The company explains to eKapija that the project has been paused and that they are currently looking for another investor.
In the Municipality of Cajetina, as they say for eKapija, they are preparing a location for a potential investor. The preparation of the business plan and the feasibility study for the construction of an aquapark in Zlatibor is in progress, and the documentation is financed by the Swiss government as part of the PSD program. The local self-government has already defined the location by a detailed regulation plan.
– Following the completion of the documentation, we will be able to offer a parcel for an aquapark for potential investors – they say at the Municipality of Cajetina.
Mayor of Belgrade Sinisa Mali has also announced that the capital of Serbia might soon get an aquapark at the IKEA department store, and, as he claims, a Turkish investor is interested in this project.
Sanja Sojic