How a digital vision anchors a European experience brand
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Your youngest is obsessed with the Maya de Bij-character. Your eldest wants to ride every white-knuckle attraction in the park. Planning a family weekend at a theme park that works for everyone can feel like a proper mission. Which one do you choose? What tickets and deals are available? What if it rains: are there indoor options? And where do you book a hotel?
Plopsa Group wanted to relieve all this decision and booking stress. Their ambition: bring every park, hotel and experience the group has to offer together on a single platform, so families can put together their perfect day without the faff. Because the theme park experience should start from the very first click.
Service design blueprint development
Strategic digital transformation
Drupal multisite architecture
Native mobile app development
Data integration and ecosystem design
b2b growth strategies
From Studio 100 attraction parks to European experience destination
Plopsa is far more than Plopsaland Belgium - even if that is one of the group's best-known and most-visited parks. The group runs seven theme parks and resorts spread across Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
Plopsa Group's ambition is to become the dream destination for families and theme park enthusiasts across Europe, offering visitors a multi-layered experience at every turn.
But that rich diversity of offering created quite a few challenges online.
Visitors to Plopsaland Belgium in De Panne often had no idea that Plopsaqua water parks existed, that the former Holiday Park in Germany (now Plopsaland Deutschland) was part of the same group, that live shows were on the programme, or that you could stay the night — in or near the parks.
And even when they did know, there was no central overview to compare parks, book accommodation or discover the deals available when you combined multiple experiences. That digital fragmentation meant missed opportunities, plain and simple.
So Plopsa made a serious push on digitalisation — to give the full offering a higher profile and make it easier for visitors to access restaurant reservations, season passes, shows and Express Passes.
Challenge
Bring all Plopsa parks and experiences together in one integrated ecosystem, so families can plan and book their ideal day or weekend in just a few clicks, hotel included.
Solution
A strategic digital transformation programme rooted in service design, built around an integrated platform, native apps and data-driven optimisation that supports the full customer journey.
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Plopsa × iO: creating magical experiences together
Plopsa Group, the theme park division of Studio 100, gives 3.5 million visitors the time of their lives every year. The brand runs seven theme and water parks and resorts across Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany — from Plopsaland Belgium, the country's best-known theme park, to Plopsaland Ardennes, Plopsaland Deutschland and the Plopsaqua water parks. At Plopsa, everything revolves around the experience built around their own beloved TV characters.
With ambitions to grow into a leading European experience brand, Plopsa chose iO as their strategic long-term partner in April 2024. Plopsa wanted to take the visitor experience to the next level — not just inside the parks, but digitally too. Because even at home, when people are browsing, comparing and booking, the magic needs to come through.
Since then, we've been working together to turn every digital touchpoint into part of the Plopsa experience. By combining our expertise in strategy, technology, data and marketing, we're helping Plopsa bridge the gap between digital possibilities and visitor needs. We work in sprints as integrated teams, proactively thinking ahead about the brand's digital future. Together, we're building more than projects — we're developing strategic advice and hands-on execution that makes a real difference.
The challenge: delivering the Plopsa experience
Plopsa Group set out an ambitious strategic vision with concrete targets for 2028: making optimal use of available park capacity, driving more direct sales through owned channels, and improving the predictability of visitor flows through more planned visits.
The core challenge was mapping out a clear roadmap towards those goals.
Several questions needed answering:
What does the current digital customer journey look like — and where are the biggest pain points?
What technical and organisational bottlenecks are holding back optimal conversion?
How can new digital experiences do a better job of inspiring and engaging visitors?
Strategic service design
Plopsa was facing a strategic digital transformation that would put the full visitor journey under the microscope. A complex challenge requiring a broad range of expertise — which is exactly where iO feels at home.
We started with a strategic phase. Together with Plopsa, we mapped out how visitors plan and experience their park visit — and where things could be better. We had in-depth conversations with the entire senior leadership team to understand what truly mattered to the business.
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A phased approach with clear priorities
Those intensive conversations with the Plopsa team gave us a clear picture of where to focus. We identified four key pillars for the digital transformation:
Build a solid foundation — Get the digital basics right before moving on to more advanced features.
Focus on total experiences — Think beyond day visits to multi-day stays and combined experiences.
Use data smartly — By collecting, storing and analysing data more purposefully, Plopsa can better understand visitors and personalise their experience.
Drive operational efficiency — Streamline (ordering) processes digitally so teams can focus on what really matters: making visitors happy.
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A measurable framework for the full visitor journey
A crucial part of our approach was developing a measurable framework that links the customer journey to concrete KPIs. We mapped out every phase of the visitor journey systematically.
It starts with discovery: how do we inspire families and help them find their perfect Plopsa experience? Planning is all about managing expectations: what information do visitors need to arrive at the park with confidence? Arrival is about a warm, efficient welcome to parks and accommodation. And once inside the park, it's about maximising the visitor experience through smart digital support.
This framework lets us define concrete measurement points for every phase — from online engagement through to actual conversions and in-visit satisfaction. That way, we can not only measure whether our solutions are working, but continuously improve where needed.
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Plopsa.com: from portal to ecosystem
We developed one integrated platform on a Drupal multisite architecture, acting as a central hub where visitors can discover all parks, accommodation, deals and events.
All websites are now managed from a single environment, delivering:
Consistent branding across every touchpoint
Shared hosting and development costs
More efficient content management
Faster launch of new websites through reusable functionality
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Native apps: from navigation to experience
In parallel, we developed two native apps for the group's largest parks: Plopsaland Belgium and Plopsaland Deutschland. These give visitors a richer in-park experience than a standard entry ticket:
Park map with filters for all attractions, food & beverage and shops
Real-time daily schedules for shows and meet & greets
Express Pass purchase and management
Favourites functionality
Push notifications via OneSignal integration
Accessibility information
Basic Plopsa profile for personalisation
Solutions for a seamless digital experience
We're developing strategic solutions to smooth out the digital visitor journey. By better integrating Plopsa Group's various systems, visitors will enjoy a more streamlined experience — and find it easier to combine tickets, parking, Express Passes and accommodation.
Together, we're also working to make better use of the potential in customer data. In the future, this will allow Plopsa to understand visitors more deeply and offer personalised experiences — from recognising regular guests to surfacing relevant discounts and recommendations based on previous visits.
Measurable results and impact
Our collaboration shows how strategic service design translates into concrete business impact. By mapping the full visitor journey and systematically tackling pain points, we're helping Plopsa Group grow into a leading European experience brand.
The new ecosystem now serves seven theme parks, four accommodation venues and one theatre through one integrated platform with multiple sites. This architecture delivers significant cost savings through shared hosting, development and maintenance.
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Two prestigious awards
The new digital experience and CX flow of the Plopsa hub are firmly grounded in a clear strategy and digital vision — and that's paying off. In 2025, the redesigned digital platform won not one but two Drupal Splash Awards:
Best enterprise website
Runner-up for website of the year
According to the international jury of Drupal experts, Plopsa.com stood out for "a clear structure, smooth navigation and strong interactive elements, such as the park map."
Xavier Verellen, Chief Marketing & Sales Officer at Plopsa Group, on the collaboration: "The double win at the Drupal Splash Awards shows we're heading in the right direction with our digital strategy. Digital tools and integration are becoming increasingly important in our organisation. This award motivates us to keep investing in them."
Strategic impact: Plopsa's business objectives
The apps launched in June 2025 (Germany) and September 2025 (Belgium). User feedback showed that visitors appreciate the app — particularly the interactive park maps and real-time information on shows and events.
In the next phases, we'll continue developing the app and website with additional features, alongside a range of new projects that bring even more service and possibilities to visitors online.