food

WATERPLAY THAT PAYS

Posted on May 5, 2026

SPLASH PADS, pools and waterslides from Ustigate Waterplay keep guests engaged, extending stays and boosting on-site spending.

Transform pools and splash pads into revenue-generating, family-focused experiences...

In today’s competitive UK holiday park market, waterplay is no longer just an amenity—it’s a revenue and engagement engine. Families increasingly seek immersive, inclusive, and weather-flexible experiences that entertain all generations.

Splash pads, tipping buckets, waterslides, and multi-level play structures aren’t just fun—they influence bookings, extend stays, and boost on-site spending. Children often lead the way in holiday decisions, letting parents know that a pool, splash pad, or waterslide can make or break the choice.

Waterplay encourages multi-generational interaction, screen-free fun, and memorable shared experiences. Inclusive designs, such as zero-depth splash pads, allow toddlers, grandparents, and everyone in between to join safely. Outdoor attractions thrive in sunny weather, while indoor facilities ensure year-round engagement, keeping guests active regardless of rain, wind, or cold.

Interactive water attractions also drive revenue. Guests spend more time on-site, returning for multiple sessions, which naturally increases secondary spend on food, drinks, and retail. Parks offering attractions for all ages maximise dwell time while creating communal fun that keeps families engaged throughout their stay.

FAMILIES MAKING MEMORIES on a zero-depth splash pad, where multi-generational fun brings everyone together at a UK holiday park.

Ustigate Waterplay delivers turnkey aquatic solutions that elevate the guest experience. Their Vortex Splashpad® collections, Elevations™ multi-level structures, waterslides, WaveSurfer, NinjaCross, and Vectory™ range provide thrills for everyone. The Safeswap™ system allows operators to refresh splash pads quickly, keeping attractions new and exciting at minimal cost.

Zero-depth designs reduce lifeguard requirements while providing rich sensory play, and partnerships with Vortex International and wiegand. waterrides ensure high-quality, durable products. Waterplay also creates opportunities for creativity and competition. NinjaCross courses, inflatable challenges, swimming lessons, and aqua aerobics foster engagement and unlock additional revenue streams.

Multi-generational play products like Vectory™ encourage grandparents, parents, and children to splash. For operators, the benefits of waterplay are clear: it drives footfall, increases dwell time, differentiates parks in a crowded market, and encourages repeat visits.

Ustigate Waterplay supports operators at every stage, providing full design, build, and maintenance services to ensure attractions are safe, inclusive, and designed to delight. In short, waterplay isn’t just fun—it’s a strategic asset. For holiday parks, it boosts revenue, engages guests, and transforms pools into profit-driving, family-focused destinations. Investing in high-quality waterplay ensures memorable experiences that keep families returning year after year.

Ustigate Waterplay
01322 424445
www.ustigatewaterplay.co.uk

On The Menu

Posted on November 28, 2014
pizza

From high-class restaurants to family-friendly pizza cafes, the choice on offer at many locations is vast.

On The Menu

WITH millions of British holidaymakers heading for holiday parks in the UK this year, one of the major attractions for most visitors was that the cooking would be done for them.

Catering is the vital ingredient of the holiday park business menu. From high-class restaurants to family-friendly pizza cafes, the choice on offer at many locations is vast. Quality food and good surroundings are key to the restaurant enjoyment factor with staff service and excellent menus par for the course in these competitive times.

Butlins pride themselves on top-quality restaurants with a total of 58 eating and drinking outlets and venues at their three seaside locations – Bognor Regis (West Sussex), Minehead (Somerset) and Skegness (Lincolnshire). These range from pubs, bars, buffet-style restaurants, ice cream parlours, pizza and pasta restaurants, fish and chip restaurants and even a restaurant run by TV chef Brian Turner.

chips

Hendra Holiday Park’s takeaway was named ‘Seasonal Fish & Chip Operator of the Year’ at the Seafish National Fish & Chip Awards earlier this year.

As with other resorts, holidaymakers book either self-catering holidays or the option to buy a dining package, which allows guests breakfast and dinner in their buffet restaurants. With 1.5 million guests a year, around 600,000, equating to 45 per cent, choose to buy the dining plan option. “Catering is an area of the business that we’re investing in heavily,” says James Silverstone of Butlins. “Character meals are available at all resorts – for example breakfast with Billy and Bonnie Bear.”

Haven Holiday Parks, part of Bourne Leisure, have worked hard to make the restaurant experience a memorable one across their locations. Fish and chips shares a quintessentially strong association with the seaside, so with a great level of investment in their fish and chip shops, Haven have increased the quality and experience of its venues to help celebrate the seaside and the UK’s favourite dish. Theme events have also been added to provide choice. Haven’s mid-week and weekend carvery is very popular, whilst Curry Night and Steak & Grill evenings provide added variety.

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