PANORMIC WHEEL

A panoramic wheel is one of the main tourist city-attractions. This not only for its structural impressiveness, but also for the panoramic view it offers over the city thanks to its height.
There are already several examples in and outside Europe that have proved how successful such an Attraction is; Italy is also ready to start such an experience through a modern high tech project that combines technology with elegance .
This short presentation focuses on the main points of how to successfully insert, in a logical way, such an investment into a city’s Tourism offering, and how to exploit a Giant Wheel into education of children/school groups as well as a unique experience to all citizens and tourists.

Operation

The operation of a Giant Wheel needs a technical staff: a director, to watch over the correct operation of the Attraction and a number of Assistants to give maximum service to the passengers starting from the “ticketing”, queue line organization and assistance to the passengers to enter and exit the Wheel Cabins. Each Cabin is equipped with a communication system allowing maximum information service to the passengers as well as emergency system. An emergency button is foreseen to use in case of sudden illness of a passenger inside the cabin.

It is obvious that Giant Wheel must be accessible to all community groups and as a consequence the “pricing policy” must be logical in way to allow schools, associations, guided tourist groups, and all other temporary groups visiting the city to access the Wheel. In this way visiting the Wheel does not represent only a unique ride in the Wheel but a reference continuous place to admire the city’s panoramic view.

We can report world-wide a continuous development of projects for Panoramic Wheels being installed in cities such as Paris, France where the Wheel was placed near the Champs Elysees and in Greenwich, UK. In the same way many eastern cities are studying a future Wheel installation.

The installation site of a Giant Wheel is of strategic importance for the City and must be carefully chosen. Most of the times it shall be placed in the City Centre, easily accessible by public transportations and easily accessible by all groups of citizens and tourists temporarily present in the City. Other examples show the importance of installing a Giant Wheel in under-development areas near City Centers .