Wonderla Holidays Ltd, India’s largest amusement park chain, said it will re-open its Hyderabad amusement park from Aug 5, marking the first such facility under the company management to re-open after the second wave of COVID-19.
The company had reopened its hotel, Wonderla Resorts, earlier this month, but its amusement parks are still shut as per government orders.
The theme park will be open only on Thursday to Sunday from 11 am onwards.
The reopening indicates a slow return, not just for the company, but for the country as a whole to normalcy after being rocked by a lethal second wave of COVID-19 in April and May.
The Telangana government has been the most proactive as far as allowing industries to resume normal operations has been concerned.
The company said the Hyderabad park will work at 50% capacity and operate as per all government directions. It said the park is certified as COVID-safe by Bureau Veritas India.
“We are hoping to open up our other parks shortly as well,” said MD Arun Chittilappilly.
“We are fully prepared to welcome our customers to our park, following all safety precautions. All our staff are vaccinated and are mandated to wear masks.”
The company is offering an all-day pass at Rs 799, inclusive of GST, with access to all land and water rides.
It also advised visitors to book the tickets online, instead of queuing up at the counter.
The company will hold COVID Angel Days, during which it will invite 1,500 COVID-19 workers and their family for free entry to the park.
It plans to invite doctors, nurses, attendants, reporters, police, crematorium workers, ASHA workers and so on. Registration for ‘Covid Angels’ will be open from 21st to 25th July 2021.
Like its peers in the leisure business, the company has been badly hit by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
For the year-ended March, the company made a net loss of Rs 49.9 cr, which is higher than its full-year revenue of Rs 44.71 cr. In fact, full year revenue was down by a whopping 84% from Rs 283 cr.
However, things were beginning to look up during the last three months of the financial year, when the second wave struck.
Overall occupancy inched up to 28% during Jan-Mar, not drastically lower than the 33% registered during the corresponding period of 2020.
The company opened its parks in January, when they were functional only for four days a week — from Thursday to Sunday. They were able to function on all the days of week only in March.