Lm100,000 upgrade to lure more people to the big screen

The Eden Leisure Group is pumping over Lm100,000 into its cinemas in St George's Bay in a bid to entice more people to the big screen and ward off stiff competition from piracy and Region 1 DVDs.

The group has decided to focus on its core areas of the leisure and entertainment business in St George's Bay after divesting itself of its loss-making operations in Fgura.

The first phase of the investment involves an overhaul of the ticketing and concession software and hardware systems to enable customers to buy tickets online.

Teaming up with a partner in cinema technology in eastern and northern Europe, Markus Cinema Systems, the company has just rolled out a revamped system of ticket and food and drink sales.

The previous hardware was replaced with touch-screen computers. Each terminal comes with its own customer screen that allows clients to see exactly where they will be seated, while giving them the chance to move seats and customise their experience.

Company secretary Simon De Cesare said the IT overhaul was a long time in coming and, with the looming introduction of the euro, coupled with the demands of customers, the group had to invest in this technology to re-establish itself as the premium cinema and leisure operator on the island.

"The new system will allow us many different possibilities in the future and the first one is now being launched. You can now choose your seats and buy your tickets online from the comfort of your own home - forget queuing for your tickets at the box office," he said.

Once you book online all you have to do is print your tickets and walk straight into the cinema.

"This is a very exciting new feature we can offer our clients and we feel the reduced hassle will benefit cinemagoers," he added.

The exterior of the cinema complex and the adjacent Eden SuperBowl have also been completely refurbished over the last two months, presenting a luxurious and premium image of entertainment complex.

Plasma screens adorn the cinema quarters showing upcoming film trailers as well as activities on offer. The façade has been taken over by an LED light board, made up of several hundreds of thousands of light bulbs, that lists the films and show times.

All the bathrooms were gutted and refitted last year, and a disabled-friendly bathroom was added.

The group has recognised that while the facilities and the visual impression of the cinemas are essential, these would be lost if the film's presentation was not of the utmost quality. The Eden Cinemas are now investing further in the upgrading of their visual and audio facilities.

Mr De Cesare said that about 40 per cent of the actual screens the films are projected on were being replaced with new ones this month and others will be changed in the future. In addition, a significant investment in sound enhancement is being made to further improve the sound quality in the theatres and to conform to EU standards.

"The cinema industry is not an easy one here. DVD rentals of Region 1 DVDs and rampant piracy make it difficult to compete, and we rely on the product that Hollywood makes being acceptable to the public," Mr De Cesare said.

"We must ensure that the experience we give our customers is exciting and trouble-free in order to ensure that cinema is the first thing that comes to mind when people need entertainment."