68% of Chinese theme park visitors will spend up to four times more than normal on food and drink if they can use mobile phone apps to order in advance, research by Omnico has found.

65% will spend up to four times the average if they can use self-scan apps on their phones or touchscreen kiosks for ordering in food outlets, while 57% say these technologies will lead to similar increases in what they spend on merchandise. The figures are part of the Omnico Theme Park ROI Barometer, surveying 1,973 consumers from China, Malaysia and Japan who have visited a park within the last two years, along with 1,360 for the US and UK.

"Our research confirms that advanced point-of-sale technology can transform the revenues of Asian theme parks," said Mel Taylor, CEO, Omnico. "We know visitors want technology that makes visits more convenient and now we can see how such innovations will have massive positive impact on the bottom line."

53% of Malaysian theme park visitors, for example, will spend up to four times the average amount on food and beverages if they can pre-order with a mobile app, along with 43% of Japanese visitors.

49% of Malaysian respondents said spending on merchandise could quadruple with self-scan apps or self-service kiosks, compared with 45% of Japanese visitors.

Queues are universally loathed, with 78% across the three countries saying they often or occasionally decide against buying food and beverages at a park because of queuing. 64% took the same view with regard to retail purchases and would walk away rather than stand in line.

Visitors also said their spending would increase if virtual reality guides and experiences, or artificial intelligence-powered recognition systems, were used to make their visits easier. In China, 62% said they would spend up to four times more than average on an admission ticket if the park had these technologies, compared with 52% in Malaysia and 36% in Japan.

Overall, the Theme Park ROI Barometer revealed that implementation of technologies that please todays tech-savvy customers can deliver tangible results to theme park operators.