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CHAPTER 8

International Growth for the Concept


of Children’s Edutainment: The Case
of KidZania

Argentina Soto-Maciel

Abstract This chapter deals with the international development of an


entrepreneurial project of Mexican origin. KidZania is one of the fastest
growing brands of edutainment globally. This company has an innovative
concept focused on edutainment aimed at children. Currently, it has a
presence in 19 countries through 24 locations and receives more than 58
million visitors a year.
The internationalization of the company is atypical, as it includes coun-
tries lacking cultural similarities, geographic proximity, or the prior pres-
ence of Mexican companies, including branches in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,
Indonesia, or Japan. This reality supports the importance of the character-
istics of their markets, which challenges the readers in their capacity for
analysis and strategic thinking.

Keywords Edutainment • Global markets • Reverse innovation


• International entrepreneurship

A. Soto-Maciel (*)
Universidad Anáhuac México, Huixquilucan, Mexico
e-mail: argentina.soto@anahuac.mx

© The Author(s) 2019 121


P. Reyes-Mercado, G. J. Larios Hernández (eds.),
Reverse Entrepreneurship in Latin America,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94466-1_8
122 A. SOTO-MACIEL

Introduction
In 1999, an innovative concept focusing on the edutainment of children
was created in Mexico and was denominated KidZania. Commercial
approval ensued rapidly and since then, its growth has been constant.
Currently, it has a presence in 19 countries through 24 locations, receives
more than 58 million visitors a year and has 11,000 associates. It is one of
the fastest growing brands of edutainment globally.
Since its inception, the greatest desire of its founder, Xavier López has
been to enter and develop its North American market: “We wanted to
enter as soon as possible, so that they do not copy the idea” (Palomino
2016). The reason is obvious, since this is the largest entertainment mar-
ket worldwide (50% of global participation), and the most competitive to
a variety of formats and participants. “So we set up an office, got a work
team, acquired a location in New York, started looking for partners and we
received investment proposals from Catterton Partners and Maveron”,
López noted (Mendoza 2018). Conversely, Howard Schultz (the founder
of Starbucks Coffee) told Xavier “If I were you, I would not touch it”
(Palomino 2016). And he gave up the idea. They closed the office and
suspended activities indefinitely. However, to what exactly was Howard
Schultz referring? When and how to enter the largest market in the world?
How to know it?
The KidZania founder and CEO was born in 1964, in a big and close
family. His father was a businessman engaged in different activities, such as
in the food industry and real estate. His mother was a homemaker who
raised seven children: he remembers a very happy childhood, surrounded
by brothers and cousins. When he was a child, his dream was to become a
magician and perform in nursing homes and orphanages. Since that time,
he enjoyed organizing everything, entertaining, and helping people. His
dream would become a reality in his profession. Later, opportunities led
the young entrepreneur to alternate his educational formation between
the US and Mexico: one year of high school in the US, a bachelor degree
and a master degree in basiness Administration in private Mexican institu-
tions. When he was only 20 years old, he had great responsibilities—his
father’s real estate company went bankrupt, and he was called to support
the family business and was charged with the responsibility of selling off
the majority of the properties to avoid larger losses. Later, he became
director of risk capital in a financial company. At this moment, one close
friend proposed to him a nursing project with Role-Playing Games (RPG),
INTERNATIONAL GROWTH FOR THE CONCEPT OF CHILDREN’S… 123

but it was not scalable. He got an MBA in Kellogg Graduate School of


Management at Northwestern University. Inspired by the previous idea, it
was during that stage that he decided to start his own business, supported
by his teachers. One of these, a renowned professor of strategy, warned
him: “I love your business, it will go very well, but you will have a prob-
lem. When you grow up, you will not have the people to do it” (Palomino
2016). At that time, the advice fell on deaf ears, and the main problem was
to work with the original idea until achieving acceptance of children,
fathers, schools, and companies. They were young (33 years old) when
their idea presented itself and they had to face big problems. The first
drawback was credibility. They were not introducing into the scenario a
proven idea, but something new. It did not exist in Mexico or in any other
country. Neither of them had previous experience with the entertainment
industry and neither had the financial resources. However, it was a con-
cept that was very well received by Mexican and multinational brands.
From the beginning, the latter supported the idea and invested in the
project to represent their products. The client did the same once they
experienced the concept.
This case study will lead readers to explore essential decisions related to
the selection of potential markets, development strategies, and their
implications.

Context
Edutainment (education and entertainment) is content designed to edu-
cate and entertain. It is a non-formal educational situation, given that its
formative structure is flexible and not instructional (Ten 1998). Learning
focuses on the goal of empowering children. It is a methodology that is
increasingly recognized in today’s society. The majority of these produc-
tions have been produced through audio and video for their broadcast
through film, television, radio, and the Internet, although, traditionally,
games and toys are the best example. Toys within the context of imitation
or role play fulfill that central function, because they lead to the experi-
mentation of situations that would otherwise be impossible. The term
edutainment was first used in 1948 by The Walt Disney Company to refer
to the True Life Adventures series. At present, its use has been diversified
and specialized with the help of technology. Important international orga-
nizations such as the United Nations (UN), the Inter-American
Development Bank (IADB), and the Organisation for Economic
124 A. SOTO-MACIEL

Co-operation and Development (OECD) believe that this concept can


transform the way people think, act, and prosper because of its high
impact. In the business field, it has been integrated into learning practices
and organizational communication. However, in education, it has facili-
tated experimentation and the creation of experiential spaces; thus, it is
increasingly appearing in museums, zoos, or gardens.
KidZania developed an innovative concept of experimental edutain-
ment inspired by theme parks (a type of amusement park) and amusement
parks, featuring attractions, which to date, continues to lack direct
competitors.

Between the Amusement Park and the Theme Park


The amusement park is a delimited and recreational space where elements
from the following intersect: (a) fairs and festivals are combined; (b) natu-
ral parks; and (c) shows and museums. The first artificially created diver-
sions were developed in gardens and derived from the Renaissance period,
the humanistic aristocracy. One of the most emblematic examples is the
Château de Versailles, where, in addition to the spectacle of the gardens
and facilities, there was a menagerie, an autómata, and different attractions
to entertain the courtiers. However, Robert II of Artois in Vieil Hesdin in
northern France built the first documented recreational park at the end of
the thirteenth century. The design consisted of a revolving castle, a grotto
where rain and snow were simulated, animated puppets/automatons,
sinking bridges, and exotic plants and animals that symbolized paradise.
Carlos V destroyed this space 300 years later (Secall 2001). The theme
park is an evolution of the amusement park combined with elements of the
ornamental park and the zoo. This concept includes fun, entertainment,
culture, learning, technology, science, interactivity, and tradition, and his-
tory, among many others. The first park with mechanical attractions
appeared in 1766: the Vienna Prater. However, it would not be until 1887
that there appeared in the US (Coney Island in New York) the first park
touted as a business concept and one of permanent fun. Development was
very intense, achieving 1500 parks by the end of 1920 (Ten 1998). At the
beginning, the parks were located at the urban peripheries, where the tram
and trolleybus companies made their lines profitable, attracting traffic to
these deserted areas. The global economic and political turbulence of the
rime caused it to not be until 1955 that the first modern theme park
would appear in California: Disneyland.
INTERNATIONAL GROWTH FOR THE CONCEPT OF CHILDREN’S… 125

The theme park is a delimited space destined for recreational activities


where, through the experience of a magical world organized into several
homogeneous thematic axes and mechanical attractions or shows, it seeks
to satisfy the family visitor. The concept is at once emotional and eco-
nomic, emotional because, through a “climate of immersion”, the every-
day environment is replaced so that the visitor can experience the feeling
of being in another magical and fun space, and economic because it seeks
to increase visitor spending. Among its characteristics, the attractiveness is
emphasized for the entire family of one or more thematic environments:
environmental entertainment, the strong level of investment, and a single
price policy. In addition, mega parks include accommodation infrastruc-
ture. These spaces can be a return to childhood (Disneyland), historical
(Asterix), fiction (movies), to nature (Sea World), and new technologies
(Futuroscope), or specialized topics (City of Science and Industry).
Entertainment, particularly amusement parks, is experiencing a buoy-
ant time around the world, with a growth in attendance of up to 12%,
which represented a global market of 39,500 million dollars. The geo-
graphical distribution of the market is as follows: attendance estimated in
North America, 375 million guests annually; in the Asia Pacific, 368 mil-
lion guests; Europe, the Middle East and Africa, 161 million guests, and
in Latin America, 30 million guests (IAAPA 2018). In the US, there are
more than 400 amusement parks and nearly 30,000 attractions, while in
Europe, there are more than 300 amusement parks.
In the entertainment industry, the Themed Entertainment Association
(TEA)1 notes equally that the size of the market is growing progressively,
reaching from 382 million in 2014 to 420 million in 2015 and 438 mil-
lion in 2016 for the top 10 theme park groups (see Table 8.1) (Rubin
2016). Continuity in the trend is expected, with growth between 2015
and 2016, of top 20 museums worldwide (see Tables 8.2 and 8.3) being
1.2%, while, for the top 25 amusement/theme parks worldwide, there was
a negative experience of growth with −1.1% (see Tables 8.4 and 8.5)
(Rubin 2016). North America and Latin America demonstrated modest,
single-digit advances, while Europe and Asia were down by similar
amounts, and there was a lull in attendance growth, especially in the
mature North American market (Rubin 2017).

1
An international non-profit association, its mission is to stimulate knowledge and profe-
sional growth, expand the size, diversity, and awareness of the themed entertainement indus-
try, facilitating dialogue and communication among its members.
Table 8.1 Top 10 theme park groups worldwide
Rank Group name % Attendance Attendance
Change 2016 2015

1 Walt Disney Attractions 1.8 140,403,000 137,902,000


2 Merlin Entertainment Group 1.2 61,200,000 60,500,000
3 Universal Parks and Resorts 5.5 47,356,000 44,884,000
4 OCT Parks China 11.9 32,270,000 28,830,000
5 Fantawild 37 31,108,000 23,093,000
6 Six Flags Inc. 5.4 30,108,000 28,557,000
7 Chimelong Group 16 27,362,000 23,587,000
8 Cedar Fair Entertainment 2.7 25,104,000 24,448,000
Company
9 SeaWorld Parks & −2.1 22,000,000 22,471,000
Entertainment
10 Parques Reunidos −6 20,825,000 22,154,000

Top 10 attendance growth 2015–2016 4.3 438,267,000 420,360,000

Source: Rubin (2017)

Table 8.2 Top 20 museums worldwide


Rank Museum/location % Change

1 National Museum of China, Beijing, China 3.6


2 National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC, U.S. 8.7
3 Louvre, Paris, France −14.9
4 National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, U.S. 2.9
5 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, U.S. 6.3
6 British Museum, London, U.K. −5.9
7 Shanghai Science & Technology Museum, Shanghai, China 6.2
8 National Gallery, London, U.K. 6
9 Vatican Museums, Vatican, Vatican City 1.1
10 Tate Modern, London, U.K. 23.9
11 American Museum of Natural History, New York, U.S. 0
12 National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan −11.8
13 Natural History Museum, London, U.K. −12.5
14 National Gallery of Art, Washington, U.S. 3.8
15 State Hermitage, St. Petersbourg, Russia 12.3
16 China Science Technology Museum, Beijin, China 14
17 National Museum of American History, Washington, DC, U.S. −7.3
18 Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain 12.2
19 National Museum of Korea, Seoul, South Korea 8.5
20 Centre Pompidou, Paris, France 6.3

Top 20 attendance growth 2015–2016 1.2

Source: Rubin (2017)


Table 8.3 Growth, 2012–2016, top 20 museums worldwide
2012–2013 2013–2014 2014–2015 2015–2016

7.2% 1.6% −0.7% 1.2%

Source: Rubin (2017)

Table 8.4 Top 25 amusement/theme parks worldwide


Rank Park, location % Change 2015–2016

1 Magic Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista, FL, U.S. −0.5


2 Disneyland, Anaheim, CA, U.S. −1.8
3 Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo, Japan −0.4
4 Universal Studios Japan, Osaka, Japan 4.3
5 Tokyo Disney Sea, Tokyo, Japan −1
6 EPCOT, Lake Buena Vista, Fl, U.S. −0.7
7 Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista, Fl, U.S. −0.7
8 Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Lake Buena Vista, Fl, U.S. −0.5
9 Universal Studios, Orlando, Fl, U.S. 4.3
10 Island of Adventure, Orlando, Fl, U.S. 6.5
11 Disney’s California Adventure, Anaheim, CA, U.S. −0.9
12 Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, Hengoin, China 13.2
13 Disneyland Park, Marne La Vallée, France −14.2
14 Lotte World, Seoul, South Korea 11.5
15 Universal Studios Hollywood, CA, U.S. 13.9
16 Everland, Gyenggi-Do, South Korea −3
17 Hong Kong Disneyland, Hong Kong SAR −10.3
18 Ocean Park, Hong Kong SAR −18.8
19 Nagashima Spa Land, Kuwana, Japan −0.3
20 Europa Park, Rust, Germany 1.8
21 Shanghai Disneyland, Shanghai, China –
22 Walt Disney Studios Park, Marne La Vallée, France −1.6
23 De Eftelin, Kaatsheuvel, The Netherlands 1.8
24 Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark −2
25 SeaWorld Florida, Fl, U.S. −7.9

Top 25 attendance growth 2015–2016 −1.1

Source: Rubin (2017)

Table 8.5 Growth, 2011–2016, top 25 amusement/theme parks


2011–2012 2012–2013 2013–2014 2014–2015 2015–2016

5.2% 4.3% 4.1% 5.4% −1.1%

Source: Rubin (2017)


128 A. SOTO-MACIEL

According to The International Association of Amusement Parks and


Attractions (IAAPA) State of the Industry survey, guest demography is
composed of families with children between the ages of 2 and 18 years,
and the average guest stay is 2.7 hours. Average size indoors is 24,636
square feet, and 8.1 acres outdoors. In the US 25% of Americans surveyed
had visited an amusement park within the previous year and another 43%
plan to do it the next year. Besides, 28% of Americans said they would be
interested in working for an amusement company (IAAPA 2018).
KidZania is an edutainment park, an interactive city where children
between 2 and 14 years of age have fun and learn through hyperrealistic
role-playing games.

The Company
In the physical space (between 75,500 square feet and 5.2 acres), an entire
city is replicated to scale with buildings, streets, and squares. It has equip-
ment such as a hospital, a police station and a fire department, a supermar-
ket, a beauty salon, a radio station, and a theater, among other spaces. The
city plan is designed in several small thematic areas divided into sectors
(automotive, health, culture, education, industrial, environmental, media,
transport, retail, sports, etc.) that children explore independently. In it,
there are “establishments” that are spaces for role play and “facilities”
spaces for the consumption of food, beverages, and merchandise. Both
include already existing real-world concepts and brands.
Through ultra-realistic RPG, children play at being adults. The concept
involves them in the following: (1) learning the economic cycle; (2) teach-
ing the value of work, and (3) understanding the process of the exchange
of goods and services.
There is a currency of its own, KidZos, which makes it possible to rep-
licate monetary transactions, operating procedures, and security measures.
Children acquire a salary through a job and spend it for the acquisition of
goods and services as clients. As part of the entrance fee, the child receives
a quantity (50) of tickets in different denominations. With these, the child
can start spending in internal establishments, such as buying a pizza or
decorating their nails. Prices respond to the principle of supply and
demand. To acquire more money, children need a job. For this, they have
the possibility of exploring more than 100 professional careers (as fire-
fighters, police officers, fashion designers, construction workers, nurses,
etc.). The amount paid for a job varies, depending on supply and demand,
INTERNATIONAL GROWTH FOR THE CONCEPT OF CHILDREN’S… 129

level of study, and access to naturalization (loyalty program). They also


learn about bank accounts, generating savings, and earning interest. They
manage their money by going to the bank, negotiating with the account
executive, or using an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) to make with-
drawals or to check their account balance.
The realistic dimension of the city is achieved with the participation of
business partners. These are companies and leading brands in their category
that enjoy exclusivity in the concept and share the children’s values. Some of
these enjoy a presence in different countries. They have the possibility of
influencing a well-defined market niche, positioning themselves in and gen-
erating loyalty to their brand in a young market. In return, companies and
brands must participate with an initial investment for design, construction,
and equipment, plus an annual fee for operation and maintenance, supplies,
marketing, and remodeling. Other key partners are the operators of shop-
ping centers, where some of their smaller formats are located.
KidZania focuses on families, schools, and businesses. It also offers services
such as birthday parties, the sale of food and beverages, merchandising, and
photographs. In addition, there are free visits for children with limited
resources, as well as for foundations supported by business partners.
The first KidZania location opened in 1999 in Mexico, where, from the
first year, it achieved an influx of 800,000 visitors. At that time, negotiating
with shopping centers, accessing money for investment, and achieving alli-
ances with business partners saturated the agendas of the Chief Executive
Officers (CEO) in their search for growth. However, at only one year of
operations, the teacher’s comment echoed in his mind: “If I had had a
stronger team from the beginning; the growth of his company would have
been faster”. It took seven years of work and a great deal of effort to open
two new locations: one domestically and the first international park.
However, one of his most important professional experiences was to trans-
form the entrepreneurial project into a multinational c­ ompany. Tokyo in
Japan will be the first to test this concept. Since its opening and to date, it
has welcomed 950,000 annual visitors. Internationalization has been very
fast; for this, the concept integrates the relevant experiences of the country
where it is located, that is cultural, geographic, food, entertainment, and
professional aspects. It also replaced half of its commercial brands with
those of its local partners. Two years later, López opened the second loca-
tion in Japan, in Nishinomiya, which was followed by Jakarta, Indonesia,
and then, with locations appearing in Lisbon, Portugal, and Dubai in the
United Arab Emirates. A year later, Seoul in South Korea received another
130 A. SOTO-MACIEL

park. In 2012, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Santiago de Chile became


offices in turn. Subsequently, locations were installed in Thailand, India,
Kuwait, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, the UK, The Philippines, and
Russia. In Russia, the headquarters opened in 2016, with an investment of
30 million dollars; it has 10,000 square meters and plans to receive 1 mil-
lion visitors a year. Moscow is the second largest city in Europe (almost
10.5 million inhabitants), and in Russia, 14.8% of the population is made
up of children. At present, plans include the opening of six more centers
and the potential highlighting of destinations such as Canada (Toronto),
Costa Rica (San José), France (Paris), and Indonesia (Surabaya). The size
of the city (generally greater than 5 million inhabitants) and the proportion
of children in its population (30% in Mexico vs. 11% in Europe) have been
relevant aspects to date in selecting new locations. However, smaller coun-
tries and formats are already being taken into consideration in, for example,
the development in Costa Rica, which has 3 million inhabitants and whose
financial requirements are also proportional, contrary to previous invest-
ments that ranged between 10 and to 30 million dollars. In his business as
in his childhood, López cannot avoid organizing and participating actively
in the design of his own Project: “I told everyone what to do, what to cre-
ate, for example, in the typical haunted house or in the Christmas play,
among other things” (Palomino 2016). After a while, López recognized
leadership and knowledge as the key to his success.
From the outset, the concept of KidZania has been recognized nation-
ally and internationally, for example, by the Themed Entertainment
Association, the International Association of Amusement Parks and
Attractions, the Mexican Franchise Association, the National Export
Award, the Best Mexican Company, and the National Quality Award,
among many others (KidZania 2018).
López has no children, but he has 16 nieces and nephews and enjoys
taking them on skiing and undersea diving trips.

The Issue
Sometime later, we met again. Howard Schultz insisted: “First, grow with
your brand in Mexico, then try it in another market... and in another.
Doing it in the U.S. too fast can break you” (Mendoza 2017). Although
the US is not the most attractive market compared to China, which has
350 million children, it is clear to Xavier López that this location ends up
legitimizing his concept in the industry.
INTERNATIONAL GROWTH FOR THE CONCEPT OF CHILDREN’S… 131

In the story of KidZania, the best growth prospects have been in the
international market. Their successful internationalization have depended
on two perspectives: the cultural and the legal. In the former, clarity is
needed in the host culture and the ability to tropicalize the concept. The
arrival of KidZania in Saudi Arabia implied the consideration of certain
significant cultural aspects, for example, the fact that the sexes are sepa-
rated from an early age, as well as almost exclusivity of the male to access
work activity. However, the opening of the brand surprised everybody
because we were not required to separate the girls from the boys; girls and
women were allowed to handle fire trucks and ambulances; in addition,
the girls will become familiar with other entertainment options such as the
dance and the theater. This theater is the only one in the country, as well
as the only public space with live music. The government desires to make
a social change and found in KidZania a subtle way to begin it. In the lat-
ter, it is important to find a good partner that is respectful of the contracts
and to develop a legal strategy, including penalties (Mendoza 2018).
Within this internationalization context, the franchise represents the
most viable strategy with the exception of the markets of Mexico and the
US. Continuous development in Mexico seeks it out through its own
financing and operation. For development in the US, look for a strategic
partnership. This is the main reference in the world, the market for the
largest entertainment platform in the world (50% of global participation),
awhile being the most competitive for formats and participants and for the
most sophisticated consumer. Potential development concerns between
12 and 16 centers. In addition, there is interest in developing the new
entertainment format based on exercise, health, and nutrition intended
for a wider audience; as well as an interactive website, given the strong
tendency toward the virtual experience; licenses and films, taking ­advantage
of intellectual property and brand positioning; expanding the merchandis-
ing portfolio; improving production; reducing costs, and increasing vol-
ume. KidZania currently has a specialized office in Hong Kong and a
catalog of 1000 SKU. Whatever the strategy, it is important to have a cata-
strophic scenario.
Despite the existence of several amusement parks around the world,
KidZania lacks direct competition. The massive development of American-­
style theme parks is a concept entailing rapid assimilation in different coun-
tries. In some countries, such as France, it is recognized as the “theme park
industry” (Secall 2001). The concept represents a change in tourist supply
and consumption, its evolution is driven in terms of quality, innovation,
132 A. SOTO-MACIEL

and specialization. Evolution in quality implies receiving tourists with a


greater spending capacity. Innovation leads to the concept in the perma-
nent search for originality and uniqueness. Frequently, technical means are
adapted in the restoration or improvement of the service. New technolo-
gies are also integrated into management, information, or communication.
This contributes to cost reduction. Specialization involves greater attrac-
tion and staging, highlights the importance of embellishment, equipment,
and furnishing, in addition to fully satisfying basic services. The human
factor is fundamental. The qualitative improvement of providing services
depends on the employee’s involvement in the provision of their service,
entailing certain levels of the life and work condition.

The Decision
The growth that KidZania has had since its creation far exceeds the expec-
tations of its entrepreneur. The road has not been easy. Regarding the
work team, at present, it appears to be more solid, and some collaborators
have more than 15 years invested in learning and growing with the com-
pany. In terms of locations, L himself acknowledges “a lot of the countries
where we operate would have never known them for a simple personal
tourist interest ... I am proud to have the only Mexican company in those
places” (Palomino 2016). However, it recognizes that it has not yet
reached the goal that was set from the beginning. Much remains to be
internationalized and developed in the country itself; however, it needs to
establish itself in the North American market, compete with the larger
groups. Five of the top 10 theme park groups are North American, which
represent 55.7% of their market. The others are in China (three), the UK
and Spain. Concerning amusement/theme parks, there are 10 parks (three
parks in California and seven in Florida) with an expected attendance of
112.8 million annually and all of these are found within the top 25 world-
wide. The next places are occupied by Japan and South Korea, with four
and three parks, respectively. Six museums have an expected attendance of
34.4 million, all of these are among the top 20 museums worldwide and
represent 31.5% of their market. The following sites are occupied by the
UK and China, with four and three museums, respectively.
The internationalization of KidZania includes countries without the
previous presence of Mexican companies, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,
Indonesia, and Japan, supporting the importance of the characteristics of
their markets.
INTERNATIONAL GROWTH FOR THE CONCEPT OF CHILDREN’S… 133

1. Identify the determining factors to consider a country as potentially


viable for KidZania, by comparing the common factors of various
locations.
2. Starting from the interest into realizing economies-of-scale, identify
potentially viable city locations in the countries in which KidZania is
already established.
3. Identify the reasons that led to the franchise format as most relevant
for the internationalization of KidZania in a large part of the world.
4. After 20 years of operating KidZania, do you consider it pertinent to
enter into the North American market?
5. What are the main risks? How can these be mitigated?
6. How is the founder’s interest in a strategic partnership in that coun-
try justified?
7. Design and justify a comprehensive strategy to enter into the North
American market.

References
IAAPA. (2018). The International Association of Amusement Parks and
Attractions. Retrieved from http://www.iaapa.org/resources/by-park-type/
amusement-parks-and-attractions/industry-statistics
KidZania Official Site. (2018). Retrieved from http://www.kidzania.com
Mendoza, V. (2018). KidZania está lista para conquistar (por fin) Estados Unidos,
Forbes México. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com.mx/kidzania-esta-
lista-para-conquistar-por-fin-estados-unidos/
Palomino, A. (2016). Exportando diversión al mundo con KidZania. Revista
PromoMagazine, 16, 28–31. Retrieved from http://www.promotexasmagazine.
com/xavier-lopez-ancona-exportando-diversion-al-mundo-con-kidzania/.
Rubin, J. (2016). Theme Index: The Global Attractions Attendance Report.
Themed Entertainment Association/Economics Research Associates. Retrieved
August, 21.
Rubin, J. (2017). TEA/AECOM 2016 Theme Index and Museum Index: The
Global Attractions Attendance Report. Themed Entertainment Association
(TEA).
Secall, R. E. (2001). Nuevo segmento emergente de turismo: los parques temáti-
cos. Cuadernos de Turismo, 7, 35–54.
Ten, A. (1998). Los nuevos paraísos. Historia y evolución de los parques temáti-
cos. Arbor, 160(629), 109.

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