How digital tech is supporting customer experience and growth at Wonderla

Amusement park chain Wonderla, one of the biggest in India, marks its 25th anniversary this year. Founded in 2000, it opened the first park in Kochi, followed by Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Bhubneshwar. By December, Wonderla will start operating its fifth and newest amusement park in Chennai.

Arun Chittilappilly, the executive chairman and managing director at Wonderla, told TechCircle that since its inception, the footfall has steadily grown, touching 48 million to date. Last year alone, Wonderla across its parks hosted 3.3 million customers. Wonderla, which went public in 2014, expects to benefit from rising disposable income and an increasing appetite for leisure experiences in India.

Preparedness from a technology perspective is vital as the chain grows in number and the volume of customers it hosts. Wonderla has invested in digital platforms to enhance customer convenience, streamline operations, and support data-driven decision-making. “While the groundwork began before the pandemic, the actual digital transformation picked up pace in 2022,” said Chittilappilly.

CX at the heart of digital transformation efforts

Earlier, Wonderla’s enterprise systems operated in silos: the point of sale (POS) system, website, and ERP platform all functioned independently. Around 2018, the company conceptualised Wonderla OS — an integrated operating system that would provide a unified view across all departments, whether it’s food and boarding (F&B) or ticketing. “The goal was to ensure that everyone in the organization works with the same real-time information,” Chittilappilly noted.

“Our focus going forward is on enhancing convenience and reducing queue times, one of the biggest pain points in amusement parks. We’re enabling quick access through digital channels, so visitors can use our website or on-site kiosks to instantly book tickets, food, or merchandise without waiting in line,” he further added.

The company uses an Oracle-based ERP system complemented by a range of in-house technologies. Chittilappilly added that its POS and ticketing systems were recently upgraded to a single QR code–based system developed in partnership with QueueBuster, a company specializing in POS technologies, and that the solution is now fully integrated into its network.

The company has built several custom integrations, for instance, its locker management system and website are both connected to the POS. “This ensures that when a guest books tickets and food online, the information becomes instantly available at the POS terminal. As a result, when guests present their QR codes, staff can immediately access all relevant details, eliminating the need for manual data entry and providing a faster, smoother guest experience,” Chittilappilly said.

Visitors can now use an RFID band–based digital wallet to load money and make purchases anywhere within the park without carrying cash. Additionally, UPI payments are accepted for those who prefer that method. Chittilappilly noted that the digital wallet is particularly convenient for guests who prefer not to carry their phones while enjoying rides.

Next phase of digital transformation

The company is still in the early stages of its next phase, which focuses on leveraging data collected through its integrated systems to build a heat map–based analytics platform. He explained that the system would help the team understand how visitors moved through the park — identifying which areas were crowded and which were underutilised.

“By analysing data from our POS, website, and other existing systems, particularly transaction volumes across different zones, we will be able to visualise visitor density in real time. This insight will allow our guest relations team to manage crowd flow more effectively and guide visitors toward less busy areas, enhancing both safety and the overall guest experience,” Chittilappilly said.

This queue management and crowd optimization system is currently under development and will primarily be built in-house. Over time, Wonderla plans to incorporate camera-based tracking to complement transactional data, giving a more accurate and dynamic picture of visitor activity across the park.

Further, Wonderla’s team is working towards building a unified system called the customer data platform (CDP) that consolidates all visitor data. Integrated with a data lake, this CDP platform will help the team in personalising customer experience and attending to grievances at shorter turnaround times.

Wonderla is also piloting the use of IoT for maintenance. “Since our parks operate large and complex rides and machines, IoT sensors can help with critical, condition-based, and preventive maintenance. These systems can trigger real-time alerts in case of malfunctions, enabling faster response and reducing downtime. The goal is to automate as much of the maintenance process as possible to ensure safety and operational efficiency,” said Chittilappilly.

For the larger rides, Wonderla plans to leverage digital twin technologies which will be rolled out in phased manner. The upcoming park in Chennai will be built integrated with this system; as for older parks that house legacy rides and infrastructure, IoT capabilities would need to be retrofitted. “We expect to complete the bulk of this IoT and digital twin implementation over the next two to three years.”

Tech team

Wonderla has a technology department headed by the Head of Technology and supported by a team of around 30 professionals. This team handles everything from day-to-day troubleshooting to overseeing system operations and integrations.

“In addition to our in-house talent, we also collaborate with external consultants and third-party partners for specific projects, especially when it comes to implementing large-scale digital transformation initiatives. This hybrid model allows us to combine deep internal knowledge of our systems with specialized external expertise,” said Chittilappilly.