TEA / AECOM 2013 Attendance Estimates Released

[Mad Ludwig]

RE: TEA 2013

That's one of the great things about the F&WF. Everything was economical.

 

[pandorazboxx]

RE: TEA 2013

I'm surprised though. Just a few months ago, the chain claimed all three Sea World parks had record attendance, yet over here, both CA and FL parks took nice hits despite Antarctica and Aquatica opening.

Here's the link, where Zachary mentioned that Seaworld made a claim about attendance and that other parks were dragging the overall attendance down.

http://forum.parkfans.net/thread-3014-post-95915.html#pid95915

So it's official. BGW wasn't the "dragging anchor" bringing the whole chain down, like practically everyone said it was gonna be. Both Tampa and Orlando took even bigger hits.

Went back and reread that discussion and while attendance was brought up in regards to some conference call where Jim Atchkinson said "other parks" were dragging down the attendance, Atlantis tried to steer the conversation away from BGW being a dragging anchor due to attendance, but rather that BGW was lacking in generating the revenue they expected.

Regardless, Jim told a bit of a fib--or possibly relied on some other statistic--if the TEA numbers are accurate.

 

[Parkgoer]

RE: TEA 2013

Regardless, Jim told a bit of a fib--or possibly relied on some other statistic--if the TEA numbers are accurate.

Spoiler

They are typically padded some

 

[jonfin826]

RE: TEA 2013

I hear a lot of Busch Gardens ads on the radio, but I never see or hear them anywhere else anymore.

 

[Zachary]

So I'm trying to work up a list of estimated attendance numbers adjusted for number of operating days each season. To do that, I, of course, have to have the number of operating days the park was open each season. Here's what I have so far...

• 2013: ???
• 2012: ???
• 2011: 182 Operating Days
• 2010: ???
• 2009: 182 Operating Days
• 2008: 161 Operating Days
• 2007: 164 Operating Days
• 2006: 165 Operating Days

Anyone have old pass holder calendars or something that they can source the missing years from?

 

[BGW Family]

2013

 

[Zachary]

Fantastic! Thanks for posting it. That added to the Christmas Town calendar from 2013 (which I do have) gives me a total of 189 operating days.

• 2013: 189 Operating Days
• 2012: ???
• 2011: 182 Operating Days
• 2010: ???
• 2009: 182 Operating Days
• 2008: 161 Operating Days
• 2007: 164 Operating Days
• 2006: 165 Operating Days

 

[BGW Family]

Sorry, I'll have to look more at home.

2012 Christmas Town

 

[BGW Family]

I'll see if I have a better one somewhere. But, this should get you what you need.
2012

 

[BGW Family]

Sorry Zachary. No luck on the 2010. It was during our sabbatical from the park after the sale. I'll keep checking around.

 

[netdvn]

Thank goodness this was at the top of the brochure pile or it would've taken ages to find. I really didn't wanna mess it up by feeding it through a scanner so I took a picture instead. The quality should be high enough to make everything out (dunno why the park went with the symbols over the colored boxes since those are harder to read).

 

[Bill]

Was quoted a few days ago in a Tampa Bay Times article on the reported decline in attendance at Busch Gardens and SeaWorld:
http://www.tampabay.com/features/travel/attractions/busch-gardens-seaworld-attendance-down-in-2013/2183588

Busch Gardens has actually pushed back a bit, disputing TEA's numbers (although not specifically saying what numbers are wrong):

"TEA/AECOM attendance numbers are estimates. While we do not report our numbers on a park-by-park basis, it is worth noting that the actual attendance was significantly higher than the estimates at some of our parks in the 2013 report . Last year SeaWorld Parks generated its third consecutive year of record revenue and operating profit, based in part on strong attendance in our SeaWorld-branded parks," wrote Busch Gardens Spokesman Travis Claytor.

From: http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/local/hillsboroughcounty/2014/06/10/busch-gardens-disputes-attendance-numbers/10293681/

---

I moved this thread from BGW News to SEAS Company News since the thread touches on multiple properties in its discussion of the figures.

 

[Zachary]

Completed list of number of operating days per year (thanks BGW Family & netdvn!):

• 2013: 189
• 2012: 184
• 2011: 182
• 2010: 182
• 2009: 182
• 2008: 161
• 2007: 164
• 2006: 165

And now, the average guests per day for each year according to TEA/AECOM's estimated numbers:

• 2013: 14,423 [-7%] (Food & Wine Festival)
• 2012: 15,511 [+2.9%] (Verbolten, Entwined)
• 2011: 15,077 [-2%] (Mach Tower, Mix it Up)
• 2010: 15,385 [-3.4%] (Europe in the Air, IllumiNights, Celtic Fyre)
• 2009: 15,934 [-17.1%] (Sesame Street Forest of Fun, Christmas Town)
• 2008: 19,217 [-0.2%]
• 2007: 19,250 [+15%] (Griffon & Jamestown's 400th Anniversary)
• 2006: 16,739

Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.

 

[Thomas]

What the hell happened in 2009? Oh, right...

 

[Zachary]

This happened in 2009

 

[Mushroom]

The fact that attendance went up less than 3% for the debut year of a $54 million dollar coaster is sad enough on its own...

 

[Username]

I think you should also mark 400th Celebration of Jamestown in 2007 since that was a HUGE impact on local tourism.

 

[Zachary]

Good call. Added.

Anyone know if anything noteworthy happen at the park in 2006 or 2008? I could probably go searching (my memory is drawing a blank) but it's easier to ask you all.

 

[Username]

From what I understand, there was still a bit of residual boost in tourism from Jamestown in 2008 (people heard about it in 2007 but didn't get a chance to go until 2008).

I'm not sure about 2006.

Edit: Because I'm bored at work, I did a quick search and it looks like Wolf Haven opened in 2006?

 

[Nicole]

I found this on Wikipedia (the source of all web-based misinformation):

Attendance[edit]

Attendance at Colonial Williamsburg peaked in 1985 at 1.1 million visitors.[22] After years of lowered attendance, it began to rebound somewhat with the Jamestown 2007 celebration and the Revolutionary City programs of live, interactive street theater between re-enactors and audience members, which began in 2006.

Since bottoming out in 2004, total attendance has climbed about 10 percent total over the last few years, according to a report in July 2008. During the most recent year, CW's hospitality revenue increase of 15 percent was much stronger than the ticket sale gain of 5 percent, reflecting how the hospitality money is not always coming from CW Historic Area tourists, according to an official.[23]