| Insight of India Amusement Industry: Interview with IAAPI’s President, Ajay Sarin |
| Insight of India Amusement Industry: Interview with IAAPI’s President, Ajay Sarin |
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| The crucial amusement expo in India, IAAPI Expo (Indian Association of Amusement Parks and Industries), ended successfully at Bombay Exhibition Center in Mumbai, India, on March 3~5, 2016. India’s amusement industry is in great potential due to its large number of people. How’s the current situation of amusement industry in India? GTI was honored to interview the President of IAAPI, Ajay Sarin, to explore the news of India’s amusement industry. Ajay pointed out that about 70% of members are from amusement industry and IAAPI aims to expand the scale of the exhibition and attract more the 5,000 visitors. The market of amusement industry in India is worth expecting. |
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Introduction of IAAPI
Game Time International (GTI):
What kind of association is IAAPI? What’s the rough number of the members and where are they mainly from?
Ajay Sarin (AS):
IAAPI is a non-profit organization. Our members are mostly from India. All over Asia we have around 350 members in the organization.
GTI: What are the rough numbers of India manufacturers in different regions of India and what kinds are these enterprises? E.g. manufacturers, distributors, operators…
AS:
Around 70% of members are from amusement industry. About 50% are manufacturers. 40% are agents. There are also distributors selling and importing rides, selling media.
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IAAPI’s strategies to make the show better
The President of IAAPI, Ajay Sarin (middle), dedicates his effort to extending the amusement market in India.
GTI:
How the scale and effect of IAAPI Expo will be, as you estimate? And how does the exhibition invite the buyers and satisfy their needs?
AS:
The benefit is mostly for the amusement parks and water parks, and mostly the buyers are coming from all over India, and we are calling them to our participation and international exhibition. We participate in that exhibition and they come here, putting their goods over here. Our main target is builders, then the resort people. We want the world participants and Asian participants to come to this expo because India is a developing market for the amusement park industry, so the world players should come and display their products.
GTI:
What are the current position and target of IAAPI Expo?
AS:
There are 107 booths. We want to expand to 140 to 150 booths in next 2 years. This year the exhibition place is about 8,000 square meters and next year we plan to run for 10,000 square meters. Plus we have 800 square meters outdoor space and next year we are planning to attract over 5,000 visitors. This year is our highest participant number yet for the past 16 years, for next year we have already had a big response because they want a bigger area and we expect more visitors.
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The condition of amusement industry in India
The IAAPI working group is working hard to expand the scale of the expo. Pictured is the opening ceremony of IAAPI Expo 2016.
GTI:
What’s the current situation of India market (amusement, gaming, casinos…) and are there relevant laws in India?
AS:
Casinos and gaming systems are not allowed in India, in any amusement centers. It is only available in the seaside resort of Goa. There is only one casino in Goa. Gaming and game zones are banned in India.
GTI:
How much is the game industry earning? The rough number of playing/game rooms? Popular game machines?
AS:
The game industry earns around 1 billion USD. For the playing rooms, we have 350 members, and 300 of them are amusement parks. As for rough number of popular game machines, we don’t have that information because they are mostly family entertainment centers and it is difficult to say which games are popular at any time.
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※The article is published in the GTI Magazine Issue No. 142 in May, 2016 |
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