Ton Derks is the owner of the BillyBird Parks “Hemelrijk”, “Drakenrijk” and the “Het Run”. BillyBird is the synonym of a real family company. The Parks are operated by the whole family Derks and mostly used by families. A wide range of attractions are build to have fun…
aquafun: “Hi Ton, first of all, how did your BillyBird Parks survive this summer – with all the restrictions and requirements? Where there any special hygiene and safety concepts to be observed?”
Ton: “Of course there where a lot of extra safety measures. On our aquafunpark we had to halve the number of guests. And we only sold tickets online on our website and not on site. We will do this next year as well.”
aquafun: “Last winter you decided to install water parks in addition to all the existing attractions at BillyBird Hemelrijk and Drakenrijk. What was your goal?”
Ton: “Every year we invest in a new attraction. Sometimes we invest for the smaller kids, sometimes for the families – now for the youngsters.”
aquafun: “The first contact with aquafun was at the IAAPA fair in Orlando, USA, right? You had certainly talks with many manufacturers. Why did you ultimately choose aquafun?”
Ton: “Compared with another German suppliers, aquafun is taller – I mean, the individual elements are bigger, higher. And they offer more attractive elements in the same park than other manufactures. Also, the representative of aquafun was more committed to get us as a customer.”
aquafun: “In Hemelrijk you have a water park for over 150 visitors. In Drakenrijk one for approx. 50. Are both parks equally well accepted by your visitors?”
Ton: “Yes, our visitors like them both. Hemelrijk can attract about 9.000 visitors on a Sunday of 30 degrees Celsius. Drakenrijk then attracts just 1.500 visitors. Hemelrijk therefore needs a larger water park, of course.”
aquafun: “What do you and of course your visitors like most about the water parks of aquafun?”
Ton: “I like the whole concept of aquafun. We ask a member for a fee of 4,00 €. Non-members pay 7,50 €. This is in addition to the entrance fee. The attraction is very visible. Everyone can see it from everywhere. The terrace is the best place to be. That’s also good for selling our food and drinks.
If we would not take an extra entrance fee, we would have far too little capacity on a busy day. Now we can offer a safe activity for almost anyone who wants it. The use of the aquafunpark is relatively cheap for our members. They know, that on holiday in Spain they would pay at least about 15,00 € for the same experience. And of course, the experience is very good. They like to be active and have fun together.”
aquafun: “Thank you very much Ton and all the best for 2021.”
“BillyBird” is using the aquafun logo as part of a common marketing strategy. Enjoy some impressions of the BillyBird aquafun Park Hemelrijk and the BillyBird aquafun Park Drakenrijk in the videos below… and of course on billybird.nl
An article by Ingo Popp
© 2020 aquafun
December 2, 2020
