Familyfriendliness as a public attraction – Playgrounds in tourism, leisure parks and retail trade

© SIK-Holzgestaltungs GmbH

Nowadays, playgrounds are considered an integral part of the design of public space. However, it is not only the municipalities that invest in attractive and modern playgrounds these days. Playgrounds have also become very important in other economic areas. Be it hotels, leisure parks, zoos, campsites, swimming pools or shopping malls. A play area that inspires children is attractive to the whole family and therefore an important marketing tool which helps to acquire customers and visitors, the result of which increases turnover and thus profit. Especially now, after the Corona pandemic, it is particularly important for the tourism and leisure industry as well as to the retail sector to attract visitors. Families with children are an important target group. Thus, attractive and popular playgrounds are an essential factor for their visit.

Today, playgrounds in public spaces are part of our everyday lives. Yet playgrounds, in the form we know them today, have only become more widespread in the past 100 years. Nevertheless, their appearance has changed in the course of the years, even though some elements such as slides, sandboxes or climbing frames had already been part of playgrounds in the 1920s and even a little earlier. However, since that time, a playground has always been and still is a place of retreat for children – a place just meant for them, providing the young visitors with a kind of shelter, especially in an urban environment (in contrast to playing in the street, for example). 

At present, however, the public playground is even more than a shelter; it is also a place for social encounters, for developing motor skills and for family togetherness. For many young families, visiting playgrounds has almost become a daily routine, as long as weather and children's health allow them to do so. Nevertheless, playgrounds are not only available in public spaces because today schools and day-care centres, too, are usually equipped with play elements.

In any case, playgrounds have become an integral part of children's lives in the meantime. Already at an early age, children are able to identify playgrounds as their very own space and they usually know exactly what to do there. The more play opportunities are offered at the relevant playground and the more play value it has, the more attractive it is and the longer children will spend their time there. Among other things, children ideally will find both challenging and fun activities, communication and social contact with other children, orientation and opportunities to be creative themselves in the playground. It is important that the playground offers both a wide variety of play opportunities and familiar activities, such as swinging, sliding, climbing, etc. as well as the opportunity to discover new activities and opportunities which enable the children to become active themselves. Children usually enjoy visiting the playground and will ask to go there when they need to.

The classical offer - playgrounds at the zoo

The high importance and at the same time high acceptance of play spaces by children nowadays also ensure that more and more play spaces are also created where the presence of families with children is explicitly desired. In this context, the zoological garden is the most classical example. When the first zoos were established in the 19th century, and were also referred to as such, they were still mainly intended as educational-scientific institutions where animals were shown and could be viewed at close quarters. It was only in the course of the 20th century that zoos slowly developed into adventure landscapes. The focus had long since shifted from just watching the animals to the recreational value which increasingly plays an important role. For children, a visit to the zoo has always been a popular experience. They usually have a great interest in animals, probably an evolutionary characteristic that is all about observation and learning experiences. This is why zoo visits are a routine leisure activity for many families. To make children feel even more at home there, playgrounds in zoos have also become permanent institutions for quite some time. A modern zoo even has several playgrounds, all of which are equipped with comprehensive and varied selections of devices. A modern animal-friendly design of the enclosures in combination with high recreational value naturally leads to the fact that zoological gardens today are more than ever dependent on their revenues. The popularity among children is a very important factor in this context; family visits are one of the most important sources of income when it comes to securing the zoos' existence. Therefore, it is of great interest to the operators to provide all visitors, especially families, with an exciting experience which guarantees repeated visits. Besides the animal enclosures, the playgrounds in particular are the places that children appreciate most when visiting the zoo. And the accompanying parents are also happy during the longer walks along the enclosures to sit down for a few minutes in peace and quiet while the children play happily. However, there should ideally be a small kiosk next to the playground where visitors can buy drinks or ice cream to make the break even sweeter. This income will then go to the zoo, so that everyone benefits from the playground.

Attraction for the youngest visitors - playgrounds in the leisure park

However, the positive effects of playgrounds in zoos have now also been recognised by many operators of larger leisure and adventure parks. The focus there is often on technically more complex attractions. Roller coasters, white-water rides, ghost trains, a free-fall tower and similar facilities are the most popular attractions at many large leisure parks. But children between the age of 2 and 7 are often left out, as they are not allowed on many rides for safety reasons. But there should be something for them, too, and playgrounds are of course very suitable installations to provide even the youngest with an unforgettable leisure experience. As with the big attractions, the playgrounds in leisure parks are usually equipped and designed in a considerably and comparatively more luxurious and complex manner compared to public playgrounds. Colourful, large and exciting adventure worlds with a wide variety of play opportunities and places to discover. The children should find a playground there that they don't have at home, to make their visit and the experience something special. After all, a stay in a leisure park is supposed to be a highlight for the whole family, and in this way even the smallest ones are part of it.

In other leisure facilities, playgrounds have also become an important element to attract more family guests. Nowadays, open-air swimming pools and beaches are more than ever dependent on a large number of visitors. And since it is not possible or advisable to stay in the water all the time, other leisure activities are very much in demand. Here, playgrounds are a welcome alternative. Water playgrounds in particular can often be easily integrated into the bathing area and furthermore, the present guests are already dressed appropriately.

Holidays for the whole family - playgrounds at campsites 

The days when our fathers told us at the breakfast table where the next family holiday was going to are long gone. Today, the whole family decides on the next holiday destination - even the children usually have a full say. And the young generation is often no longer so keen on long flights and overcrowded beach hotels with all-inclusive facilities. A camping holiday in Germany or neighbouring European countries is far more interesting. Camping has always been a popular form of holiday in Germany, but its popularity is now increasing again, especially among families with children. This is because, in contrast to earlier times when on-site peace and quiet was often the top priority at campsites and noise from children was a nuisance to many guests, today the focus is increasingly on children and family friendliness. Of course, a family-friendly campsite also includes an attractive playground where children can frolic around and discover as many play options as they wish. It is very important to provide activities for all ages, so that everyone feels at home. And the parents are on holiday too - so it's very convenient if their children spend a few hours in the playground while the parents are relaxing a bit before going on the next holiday adventure trip together. This is how everyone benefits from the family holiday. However, when the family council discusses the next holiday destination, the same campsite may come up again – and who knows, it may be the one with the great playground.

However, other tourist facilities also benefit from attractive play areas today. More and more holiday hotels with exciting and attractively designed playgrounds for children are being built. Playground & hotel? What sounds like an incompatible combination has already become reality in many places. Just like at campsites, playgrounds are designed to round off the holiday fun for all members of the family. And it is not only the hotel industry that has recently started to use play areas. Even on cruise ships, it's not just seniors and honeymooners who are on the move. Cruises for the whole family are currently on offer with many shipping companies. For this purpose, the ocean liners have of course been equipped with attractive play areas. Although these are indoor play areas, they offer many of the same things that can be found outside. So that children also feel good on the high seas and have a great holiday.

Playgrounds make cities nicer and attract families

"Our city centres are disappearing" - more and more often one gets to read headlines of this kind. They say it is mainly due to online shopping, to people being more comfortable - they no longer go to the city centre to shop for clothes and other things. But is it really just a question of "comfort"? Shopping in the city centre as a joyful leisure activity is nowadays mostly just an illusion of colourful TV programmes. Whoever claims otherwise has probably never been to the city centre with two or more small children on a Saturday to shop for clothes or shoes. That's no fun for anyone involved. Not to mention the search for a parking space. However, this it’s only logical, because there is not much excitement for children in city centres. The times when people used to flatten their noses against colourful shop windows are also long gone. If it's purely about the usefulness of shopping, the city centre's stationary retail trade will never be able to compete with the internet again. Even if people have to go to the post office two or three times. Today, the shopping experience must be paramount. A visit to the city centre must offer more than pure temples of consumption - a combination of leisure activities and shopping pleasure - with a high quality of stay. For this, however, city centres would have to be redesigned. Leisure landscapes must be integrated. Here, playgrounds are of course also of high importance. Many shopping malls have already recognised these signs and invested in attractive play areas. Because if the children can let off steam at the playground, they will also have more patience when it comes to finding the right shoes. And afterwards there is still enough time to go out for a meal or to buy something nice for other family members. In the end, everyone benefits from these activities - the local retail trade is strengthened by higher sales and the families have a great day out. However, this concept should also be transferred to the city centres. So it is time for the municipalities to change their way of thinking, simply to preserve the city centres as attractive business locations. In addition, a family-friendly city centre with great play areas also attracts visitors and tourists from elsewhere and also provides the residents with a high added value.

So nowadays, playgrounds are created in many places where one would not necessarily have expected them to be in the past. They are therefore very much in vogue, because family-friendliness has become an important factor to ensure one's own economic survival. Whether stationary retail, leisure parks, zoos or tourist facilities - all these institutions have suffered from the impacts of the Covid 19 pandemic and must now be well positioned to attract many visitors and customers. In this context, successful and attractive play areas are a good way to establish a family-friendly position. Moreover, an exciting playground will always make any city more attractive.

TT