As a BALPPA Member, you will belong to a group of like minded Operators from all sectors of the leisure industry, including theme parks, animal attractions, piers and family entertainment centres. You will also meet some great industry suppliers and service providers!
Running similar businesses, a big member benefit is being able to share common challenges, issues and best practise. You can also access BALPPA’s extensive directory of Trade Associate Members, who are some of the biggest and well renowned suppliers and service providers in the industry.
There are many ways in which we work to support our Members. Lobbying has always been a key part of this and takes on many forms. Historically, we along with our lobbying partners (currently UKHospitality) have worked hard to identify the issues and challenges that our industry faces, for both Operating Members and Trade Associate Members. Over the years, some key successes have been relating to cutting VAT for leisure, daylight saving hours and the deregulation of school holidays. Of course, we worked really hard to support our Members during the pandemic by ensuring that Members received the most up to date restrictions, regulations and information on available government support. We worked closely with UKHospitality to ensure there was as much support as possible for businesses within our sector, both operators and trade suppliers. We enjoyed some successes with this throughout the pandemic in terms of the grant schemes, Job Retention Scheme, business rates reduction and VAT reductions.
Moving forward from the pandemic, we continue to work hard on the number of challenges our industry is facing and these issues include; the cost of living crisis, energy bills, business rates, issues surrounding recruitment and distribution as a result of Brexit.
In addition to our government lobbying, we also work very closely with HSE to ensure that we keep our Members up to date on the latest legislation, regulations as well as any other safety and security issues that may affect them.
Members can access all our Member Resource Documents and Safety and Security Bulletins here.
BALPPA opens many doors. As a BALPPA Member, you’ll have access to the named contacts for all Operating Members, be able to meet fellow Operators at our various events and you can also ask us if you’d like us to help make a personal introduction. You can also join BALPPA’s Facebook Community Group, exclusively for Members, where you can link up directly with other Members, ask questions and share best practice.
BALPPA’s educational seminars cover a wide range of topics from HR, Health and Safety, Marketing, Operations, Zoo and more! Across the year, we hold in person and digital events, including free regular webinars to ensure you and your staff are kept updated on industry developments. You can read more about our sub groups and committees here. You can view our current events here.
BALPPA is the voice of the leisure, parks, piers, attractions and family entertainment centre industry. We work very closely with UK Hospitality who are our lobbying partners and various government departments to ensure that the key issues facing the industry are voiced and tackled. You can read more about our lobbying activity here.
We all hope that our Members will never have any major incidents or disasters, however, should they occur you can feel rest assured knowing BALPPA is in your corner. Whether this is providing advice directly or putting you in touch with operators who have had similar issues, BALPPA will do everything to help.
Sharing knowledge and finding out best practice is a major advantage to being a BALPPA Member. If you want to find out how others in the industry solve their challenges, just ask the team – they will either help you directly or put you in touch with a Member who can. You can also join BALPPA’s Facebook Community Group, exclusively for Members.
Membership fees vary upon the size and type of attraction. These include:
Sub categories within the above are based on the average number of visitors your business welcomes per annum.
Our membership year runs from 1st October to 30th September. When you join the Association, you will pay for a full 12 months of subscriptions according to your category of membership. Towards the end of your first year you will receive an invoice for a pro rata amount to take your membership to the 30th September to bring your membership in line with our year. From this point you will receive an invoice on an annual basis around the middle of September.
Please see a table of membership categories and fees* below. If you are unsure which category you belong to, please contact us at information@balppa.org.
| Attraction Type | Membership Type | No. of Visitors p/a | Fee* |
| Theme Park | Theme Park Member 1 | Up to 250k | £1965 |
| Theme Park Member 2 | 250k – 500k | £2485 | |
| Theme Park Member 3 | Over 500k | £3431 | |
| Animal Attractions | Animal Attractions Member 1 | Up to 100k | £432 |
| Animal Attractions Member 2 | 100k – 250k | £893 | |
| Animal Attractions Member 3 | 250k – 500k | £1135 | |
| Animal Attractions Member 4 | 500k – 1m | £1517 | |
| Animal Attractions Member 5 | Over 1m | £2022 | |
| Family Entertainment Centre | FEC Member 1 | Up to 50k | £189 |
| FEC Member 2 | 50k – 150k | £376 | |
| FEC Member 3 | 150k – 250k | £483 | |
| FEC Member 4 | 250k – 500k | £817 | |
| FEC Member 5 | over 500k | £1068 | |
| Pier | Pier Member 1 | Up to 100k | £521 |
| Pier Member 2 | 100k – 250k | £978 | |
| Pier Member 3 | 250k – 500k | £1528 | |
| Pier Member 4 | 500k – 1m | £2551 | |
| Pier Member 5 | Over 1m | £3810 | |
| Attraction / Farm Parks | Attraction / Farm Park Member 1 | Up to 100k | £439 |
| Attraction / Farm Park Member 2 | 100k – 250k | £893 | |
| Attraction / Farm Park Member 3 | 250k – 500k | £1135 | |
| Attraction / Farm Park Member 4 | 500k – 1m | £1528 | |
| Attraction / Farm Park Member 5 | Over 1m | £4868 | |
| Overseas Operators | Overseas Operating Member 1 | Up to 500k | £466 |
| Overseas Operating Member 2 | Over 500k | £732 |
*Please note: All fees listed in the above table are exclusive of VAT
Simply complete the below form to obtain a full Membership Application Pack.
* Please note that this is not an application form – the application form will be available on completion and submission of this form.
There are plenty of benefits of BALPPA Membership. Are you missing out?
Sponsorship opportunities are available exclusively to BALPPA Trade Members at most of our events. Please contact events@balppa.org for more information.
