LONDON Stock Exchange-listed Lo-Q has partnered Australia-based themed attraction designer and developer The Sanderson Group to bring its virtual queuing system to Asia.
Lo-Q specialises in a virtual queuing system that helps theme parks and attractions take visitors out of queue lines to rides and shows, allowing them instead to browse shops, have a meal or rest before their turn.
Theme parks and attractions can implement the system through Q-bot palm-sized devices, Q-band waterproof RFID wristbands – loaned to visitors who pay a premium price for the convenience – or Q-smart, a new feature for smartphones that allows visitors to obtain information on the attractions, buy tickets and book their rides ahead of time.
Lo-Q CEO, Tom Burnet, said the system had been installed in 40 theme parks and attractions worldwide, such as SixFlags Great America in Chicago and Legoland Windsor in the UK, with eight of them being among the world’s top 10 attractions, and used by more than a million visitors.
“When people are trapped in a queue line, they cannot do anything else and that includes spending money. If you can get visitors out of the queue and let them do what they desire, be it to shop for souvenirs or get a drink, they can spend more money at the theme park. When visitors get to do what they want, satisfaction level rises, complaints go down and repeat visitorship grows,” he said.
Asked how much more revenue a theme park or attraction was likely to see with the implementation of the system, Burnet said: “According to data collected in the US, each person spends an average of US$5 per hour in a theme park or attraction. A person may stand in line for four or five hours for several rides and shows throughout the day. Imagine how much more each visitor could potentially spend if he could get out of a queue,” he said.
Burnet believes that Lo-Q’s virtual queuing system and especially Q-smart will take off well in Asia, where mobile technology is widely adopted and its people are “inquisitive about how new technology can improve their life”.
