Immotion Group (IMMO has teamed up with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, a gorilla conservation organisation, to launch a new live-action virtual reality experience named ‘Gorilla Trek’.
On Tuesday, the UK-based immersive entertainment company said the launch would be unveiled at the IAAPA trade show in Florida, a conference for the global attractions industry, including amusement and theme parks, where visitors spend $45.2 billion around the world.
The Gorilla Trek VR experience will take guests to the rainforests of Rwanda on a mission to study one of nature’s most intriguing yet endangered animals - the mountain gorilla.
The company told investors that Tara Stoinski, CEO of the Fund, guides the experience, “giving unprecedented access and stunning insights into seldom-seen gorilla behaviors.”
Produced by Immotion’s Emmy Award-winning team, it is the world’s first 360º VR motion-platform experience to showcase the mountain gorillas of Rwanda, it noted.
Immotion’s Location Based Entertainment’ division is focused on creating edutainment, a concept that combines education and entertainment. Its work is varied, from educating guests about humpback whales in the South Pacific, to generating awareness about ocean pollution.
Commenting on the launch of Gorilla Trek, Rod Findley, President of Location Based Entertainment of Immotion, said: “To partner with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund is a dream come true for us. Education is important, but the engagement that you achieve when you lead the guests on a mission and tell them a compelling story is an order of magnitude greater.”
He expects the project to open up more opportunities with zoos and guests worldwide.
“In a given year over 700 million people worldwide visit zoos and aquariums, with our zoo initiative, jump-started by this amazing Gorilla Trek film,” he said, adding that the group can look forward to “significant new growth” in zoos and continued growth in the aquarium sector.
Tara Stoinski, CEO of Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, said: “Creating this VR piece with Immotion was an amazing opportunity for us transport people to Rwanda to see the mountain gorillas close up and to understand the delicate balance that exists in our conservation efforts.”
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In a statement released in June 2021, Immotion announced a move into profitability after reporting a small profit in May 2021 followed by a substantial EBITDA profit in June 2021.
Immotion attributed the move to the growth in its ‘Location Based Entertainment’ sites, which combine VR and moving rides to create virtual experiences at many locations and attractions.
Total group revenue for June 2021 (including Home Based Entertainment (HBE) and Uvisan) is expected to be over £0.7m and this should result in underlying EBITDA of c.£0.1m, it said.
Addressing shareholders at the time, Immotion said, ‘With the busy summer months ahead of us, and further installs in the pipeline, we expect Q3 to be a period of very strong trading.’
“The move into profitability is a major milestone for the business and one, given the last 14 months, which we are very glad to see arrive. As we add new sites, we should begin to see a substantial impact on overall profitability,” said Martin Higginson, Immotion Group’s CEO.
“With growing revenues and a number of new installations on the horizon we are looking forward, with confidence, to what we believe will be an incredibly busy summer season.”
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