We are kicking off the ninth season of Experience Imagination with a deep dive into the state of the global attractions industry. We sat down with Jakob Wahl, President & CEO of IAAPA, and Melissa Oviedo, CEO of TEA, to reflect on 2025, the evolving industry challenges, and the future of themed entertainment worldwide.
Listen to the episode and catch a glimpse of the conversation below.
Demand for the Experience Economy
Jakob: I think we all want to have experiences. You know, we want to have special hotels, which you can’t find anywhere else, because you want to have that special thing. You want to have on the menu, that “Instagrammable” thing, that food item which looks cool. I think sometimes looks come before the taste. And I think that is where the human being becomes this experience person and wants to explore something special. Who would have thought that a petrol station would become an attraction. But think about the people going to Buc-ee’s. Buc-ee’s becomes an attraction.
IAAPA Expo 2025: Creating Unforgettable Industry Moments
Jakob: For me, it was the smoothest Expo I can remember; things went well. What you often don’t see as an exhibitor or as an attendee, I sometimes compare it to a duck, above water it’s very quiet, but under the water, we paddle like crazy because it is a lot of hard work to bring that together. And this year, the team did an outstanding job bringing that together. We had 4,000 people in Epic Universe for IAAPA Celebrates, and it was a night to remember. It was so good that actually that we will repeat it this year, so if you have missed it, you should come back.
The Magic of our Industry
Melissa: We work in truly the most creative and innovative industry in the world. And we impact more people by what we do and what we deliver than most industries even understand. And I love that side of it. I love the people connection side. And I love that the human side. These are real people. They have families. They’re juggling work and life and balance and partners and spouses and kids. And this is the human side of our business. And I love that. I absolutely love how accessible everybody is, how open, how much everybody just wants to do something cool, and how they want to work with the people they enjoy. And that makes us the best industry in the world.
Investing in the Next Generation
Melissa: At TEA, our single most important and growing membership category that we have is NextGen. We have over 900 students as part of the TEA within NextGen, and we have 55 university clubs around the world. The welders, the carpenters, the scenic painters, the electricians, the plumbers, all the trades matter. And without the trades and without the apprenticeship of learning how to do these types of creative works, we really need to make sure that this remains a sustainable industry, and it starts in high schools.
What we’re really focused on is making sure students understand that this is an industry they can actually work in. A lot of people don’t even realize themed entertainment is an industry, let alone that there are career paths into it, so being able to give them access early and connect them with professionals is incredibly important.
