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BUSINESSVANCOUVER
March 1218, 2013

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Canada Place to get $16 million 4D tourist attraction

tourism|Entrepreneurs
By Glen Korstrom
gkorstrom@biv.com

team with Aquilini Investment Group to launch FlyOver Canada

Soaring success in the tourism business
both strang and geddes were Business in Vancouver Forty under 40 winners in 2000 when they operated Maple Leaf GST Refund Service, which helped tourists receive refunds on tax paid during their trips. they sold that business in 2002 for an undisclosed sum to Global Refund, and in 2007 the federal government prohibited tourists from claiming back the gst they spent during their trips. strang and geddes became aware of soaring attractions in 2009, when they visited the disney exhibit in california. they approached aquilini in 2011, and when he agreed to help them finance the venture, they embarked on renovations last year. were not getting any government money or grants, strang said. ticket prices will be around $20 for adults and $15 for kids.

his spring, vancouver will get its biggest privately funded tourist attraction since investors pumped $22 million into the now-closed storyeum in 2004. Soaring Attractions principals Andrew Strang and Stephen Geddes, together with Vancouver Canucks owner Aquilini Investment Group (Aig), are pumping $16 million into FlyOver Canada, which will operate in space that used to hold the imAX theatre at canada Place. t hey plan to hire about 60 employees. Flyover canada taps into a global trend of entrepreneurs opening new 4D attractions that augment visual and audio with other sensory stimulation, including technology that thrusts theatregoers forward in their seats between three and 10 metres toward a giant circular screen. The Walt Disney Co. (NYsE:Dis) operates similar exhibits at its Disney California Adventure Park and Epcot theme park, and Overseas Chinese Town Group offers a similar attraction at its Happy Valley theme parks in china. Participants, who are strapped to their seats, watch a scenic movie that fills their direct and peripheral vision. they are sprayed w ith m ist when the

movie shows a waterfall, smell trees when the movie shows a forest and feel the breeze when the movie shows a gusty landscape. the $16 million investment pays for construction of a new 60-seat theatre that includes a 20-metre diameter screen. it also covers production costs for the exhibits. We think its a great investment, Aig principal Francesco Aquilini told Business in Vancouver. About eight million tourists come to vancouver every year, and this is just one more thing for them to do. F ly o ver ca nad a v isitors will experience three separate exhibits: a 360-degree audiovisual presentation set to original music; a safety video to prepare visitors for the big show; and the flight, in which attendees watch the 30-minute Flyover canada movie as their feet dangle in the air. once the exhibit is finished, g u e s t s e x i t to a re n o v a te d 1,500-square-foot space outside canada Place where, under a new canopy, they can buy food that is representative of different parts of canada and souvenirs such as Flyover canada t-shirts. t h e l o c a t i o n i s i d e a l , said strang, cEo of soaring Attractions. canada Place has a canadian trail walk, and it has become the hub for collecting tourists

Forty under 40 alumni Stephen Geddes and Andrew Strang, along with the Aquilini Investment Group, are planning to launch FlyOver Canada in late spring | dominic schaeFer

this is the most significant private investment in a new attraction in quite a while.

We think its a great investment

[ ]
Francesco aquilini
principal, aquilini investMent Group

to take them different places in the city. To u r i sm Va nco uver v i c epresident Walt Judas said the exhibit will encourage visitors to extend visits to vancouver while boosting the citys desirability as a destination.

K biv.com

For more tourism news, go to biv.com/news/hospitality

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