From real places to theme park cities: What is the matter with ours cities?

I was always curious to know why many people like to spend holidays in theme park cities or water parks built in front of real beaches instead of going to the real city itself. Why does this preference for artificial urban settings happen? Is it related to the high level of aesthetic order that this kind of environment sometimes offers, or to the symbolic values attributed to these places? And what do we, as architects, planners and urban designers, need to do to make people stop to spend time in these places, and give more value to real public spaces?