Karting is the hook.
But the most successful karting venues don’t rely on laps alone. Many are leaving serious revenue on the table by stopping there.
Today’s guests want more than a race and a leaderboard. They want a reason to stay.
60% of consumers prefer venues with multiple attractions
83% of guests at multi-attraction venues take part in more than one activity
69% are happy to pay a premium for high-quality experiences
The highest-value guests are the ones with something to celebrate. Corporate team days. Birthday parties. Bucks and hens groups. Gen Z thrill-seekers chasing shared adrenaline.
They want competition, connection, bragging rights, and a place where the day doesn’t end when the chequered flag drops.
Value doesn’t mean discounting.
It means bundling experiences so guests don’t have to plan the next stop, keeping groups together longer, and offering enough variety that everyone finds their rush. Done right, this lifts spend per visit without eroding margin.
For operators, the right attraction mix:
Check out the top 9 complementary attractions for karting facilities in 2026, counting down from pit-lane fillers to podium-level performers 👇
Total Score: 52 / 100 — Pit Lane
Interactive projection or LED floor experiences where players avoid obstacles, react to visual cues, and compete for scores.
Visually engaging and easy to understand, which helps attract walk-up play during downtime.
Often looks better on paper than in practice. Engagement is shallow, replayability drops quickly, group play is limited, and revenue per square foot is hard to maximise without constant occupancy. Tech calibration issues are common.
Activating dead space or adding light interactivity between races, not a core revenue driver.
Total Score: 55 / 100 — Pit Lane
Indoor or themed mini golf designed for casual group play.
Visually engaging and easy to understand, which helps attract walk-up play during downtime. Provides a low-intensity, social contrast for mixed-ability groups, though it doesn’t match karting’s adrenaline or competitive edge.
Group Experience: 5/10
Adrenaline: 4/10
Guest Ratings / Feedback: 6/10
Replayability: 4/10
Price Acceptance: 6/10
ROI Potential / Revenue per Sq Ft: 5/10
Throughput: 7/10
Staffing Efficiency: 7/10
Maintenance Load: 7/10
Uniqueness / Memorability: 4/10
Requires high occupancy to deliver strong returns. Guest flow is unpredictable, with no fixed start or end times, making throughput difficult to control. Replayability is low and themed fit-outs can be expensive relative to returns.
Large-footprint venues with consistently high foot traffic seeking broad-appeal, low-intensity play.
Total Score: 58/ 100 — Pit Lane
Indoor or themed mini golf designed for casual group play. Timed, puzzle-based experiences designed for small groups.
Appeals to corporate and team-building groups already visiting for karting.
Limited replayability, high fit-out costs, and low throughput cap upside.
Tourism-heavy markets or venues with a strong corporate revenue mix that don’t rely on repeat local visits.
Total Score: 60/ 100 — Pit Lane
A curated mix of arcade games designed for impulse play.
Captures impulse spend and fills short gaps between race sessions.
Mostly solo or dual-player. Revenue is mostly impulse-based, margins are pressured by transaction fees, and meaningful pre-booking typically requires a larger arcade footprint with cashless redemption.
Light add-on revenue rather than a destination experience.
Total Score: 63/ 100 — Pit Lane
Lane-based throwing experiences with a competitive, social angle.
Taps into competition and adult group energy, especially for corporate and social events.
Staffing supervision and insurance costs apply. Slower group flow. The category has matured, with declining novelty in many markets.
Adult-focused venues with strong bar trade, used selectively for events.
Total Score: 65/ 100 — Pit Lane
Professional-grade racing simulators with competitive leaderboards.
Strong thematic alignment and appeal to motorsport purists who want to stay in race mode.
Often solo or small group-focused unless carefully packaged. High capex and limited suitability for large groups or groups seeking a diverse attraction mix.
Facilities that attact racing fanatics with high revisit rate and have the floor space and capital to invest in a few machines.
Total Score: 71 / 100 — 🥉 Podium 3
Professional-grade racing simulators with competitive leaderboards. Team-based combat in a themed arena.
Extends competition and group play for parties and younger audiences.
Can feel dated without premium theming and requires a dedicated walled room. Utilization rate can be a challenge.
Family-focused or concession karting venues that attract birthday parties.
Total Score: 73 / 100 — 🥈 Podium 2
Classic bar games enhanced with digital scoring and formats.
Supports the social side of karting while keeping groups onsite between races.
Not an anchor attraction. Limited memorability. Frequent tech issues with interactive screens.
Increasing dwell time and food and beverage spend.
Total Score: 90 / 100 — 🥇 Podium 1 (Pole Position)
A premium VR arena where groups move freely, compete, and survive together inside large-scale virtual worlds. This is full-body, shared immersion that can’t be replicated at home.
Free-roam VR mirrors karting’s core DNA: competition, physical movement, teamwork, and shared adrenaline.
VR quality varies widely. Downtime isn’t tolerated in high-throughput venues. Premium systems with proven reliability are essential.
Operators who want a premium group attraction that aligns with the high-adrenaline audience of the track and performs today while staying relevant tomorrow. A growing category with high replayability potential, delivering multiple genuinely different experiences through a single system, without adding operational complexity.
The best-performing karting venues are deliberate about what they add next.
Winning operators focus on attractions that enhance the experience their core customer already wants. Karting attracts competitive, adrenaline-driven, social guests who want to compare scores, celebrate wins, and chase the next rush.
High-performing venues prioritise experiences that keep groups together, smooth downtime between races, and earn their footprint. Throughput matters. Staffing matters. Revenue per square foot matters. The attraction also has to feel like a natural extension of karting itself.
That’s why free-roam VR sits in pole position.
Among free-roam systems, execution is everything. Zero Latency leads the category because it’s built for high-traffic venues, proven in karting environments, and engineered to perform session after session, all day, every day.
For operators looking to turn racetracks into full-day destinations, free-roam VR isn’t a bolt-on.
It’s the benchmark others are measured against.
Connect with me to explore the potential upside of the leading free-roam VR for your karting facility.
Director of Enterprise Expansion
+1 (417) 300-4120
JR has decades of hands-on experience across the attractions and location-based entertainment industry, spanning both operator and supplier leadership. He has played a key role in modernizing and scaling entertainment venues, including serving as COO of regional FEC chain Andy B’s, where he led new-location development, major facility upgrades, and operational launches.
Today, as Director of Enterprise Expansion at Zero Latency VR, JR partners with FECs, karting centers, cinemas, developers, and destination venues to reimagine how immersive experiences can drive the future of out-of-home entertainment. With venues under increasing pressure to do more with the same footprint, he focuses on helping operators extend dwell time, unlock new revenue streams, and create reasons for guests to return.