PDA's banned at the Alton Towers Resort
23/05/2008
23/05/2008
The Alton Towers Resort is banning parents from using PDA’s (Personal Digital Assistant) this May half term in a bid to increase quality family time.
It would appear from research revealed today that kids are fed up with their parents spending more time reading their emails than having fun with them. Brits work the longest hours in Europe*, meaning that parents are work obsessed and unable to switch off from their jobs for even a day! Over half of parent’s questioned – 56% - feel that they can not disconnect from work, as they are constantly accessible by the office, and 40% head off with bags packed full of work items including documents to read, PDAs and laptops.
Dr Pat Spungin child psychologist and founder of RaisingKids.co.uk said; “We all need to use weekend breaks as a time to reconnect and invest in our most important relationships in order to restore our work/life balance and put the fun back into going away. While lots of people take a break, many are not actually taking a holiday. It is vital we learn how to reprioritise and put work into a healthy perspective.”
As a direct response, the Alton Towers Resort will be piloting a “PDA Free Zone” during May Half Term (May 25th – June 1st inclusive), to encourage parents to disconnect from the office and reconnect fully with their families. PDA police will be onsite to enforce the ban and any adult caught using a PDA whilst at the Resort will be asked to report to one of five “PDA Drop Off Zones” where they can safely leave their PDA’s for the day. If the scheme is successful, it will be introduced full time.
Russell Barnes, Divisional Director for the Alton Towers Resort explains; “What we have here is the ultimate short break location where every member of the family can unwind and have fun. We feel it’s so important for parents and kids to focus on nothing more than having the best possible time, we are prepared to take drastic action to ensure that parents really leave their work behind!”
The Alton Towers Resort, part of the Merlin Entertainments Group, is home to the UK's best loved theme park with 2 hotels, a waterpark, a spa, an extraordinary golf course, and nineteenth century gothic towers. It is located upon 500 acres of Staffordshire countryside and offers a unique combination of rides and attractions for all ages, from soft play areas for tiny toddlers to ground-breaking, world-first adrenalin inducing rollercoaster rides.
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For further information and visuals, please contact:
Katie Astaire or Emma Russell
At Frank PR
Tel: 020 7693 6999
altontowers@frankpr.it
Notes to editors:
• * http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=416057&in_page_id=2
• YouGov: All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,345 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 14th - 18th December 2006. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
• PDA Free Zone will be in affect from May 25th – June 1st inclusive
• Five PDA drop off zones will be located throughout the Resort – where parents can safely leave their PDA’s for the day
• The Merlin Entertainments Group is the leading name in location based, family entertainment, which has seen the most successful and dynamic growth of any company in the sector over the last five years. The world’s second largest visitor attraction operator, Merlin has 59 attractions and six hotels in 12 countries and across 3 continents. The company aims to deliver memorable and rewarding experiences to its 33 million visitors worldwide, through its iconic global and local brands, and the commitment and passion of its managers and 13,000 employees. Merlin Entertainments operates the following attractions – SEA LIFE, Madame Tussauds, LEGOLAND®, The London Eye, Dungeons, Gardaland, LEGOLAND Discovery Centres, Alton Towers, Warwick Castle, Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures, London Aquarium, Earth Explorer, and The Pepsi Globe. The Merlin Entertainments Group offers event organisers access to a unique portfolio of award winning venues suitable for any event, whatever it might be. LEGO, the LEGO logo and LEGOLAND are trademarks of the LEGO Group. ©2008 The LEGO Group
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