The worldwide attendance figures for 2014 have been released. Here's the Report. Let's start with the good news for SEAS: the bleeding has stopped in some parks, chiefly the ones associated with the Busch Gardens brand. The results include:
Busch Gardens Tampa: +1.0%
Aquatica Orlando: +1.0%
Adventure Island: +0.9%
Water Country USA: Even
Busch Gardens Williamsburg: -1.0%
Okay, so things could be better, especially with that last line item, but this is still an improvement compared to last year. Plus, BGW did at least retain its spot in the North American top 20. You can see light at the end of the tunnel for these parks, and things can always be worse. How much worse, you ask?
SeaWorld Florida: -8.0% 5,090,000 --> 4,683,000
SeaWorld California: -12.0% 4,311,000 --> 3,794,000
That bad! I don't know what to say. I was skeptical of the Blackfish effect myself, but if SeaWorld attendance plummets when other similarly mismanaged parks are unaffected (including the waterpark next door), that seems to say something about how the public perceives that brand. Let's hope the new CEO can turn this around, because the challenge appears pretty huge.
Busch Gardens Tampa: +1.0%
Aquatica Orlando: +1.0%
Adventure Island: +0.9%
Water Country USA: Even
Busch Gardens Williamsburg: -1.0%
Okay, so things could be better, especially with that last line item, but this is still an improvement compared to last year. Plus, BGW did at least retain its spot in the North American top 20. You can see light at the end of the tunnel for these parks, and things can always be worse. How much worse, you ask?
SeaWorld Florida: -8.0% 5,090,000 --> 4,683,000
SeaWorld California: -12.0% 4,311,000 --> 3,794,000
That bad! I don't know what to say. I was skeptical of the Blackfish effect myself, but if SeaWorld attendance plummets when other similarly mismanaged parks are unaffected (including the waterpark next door), that seems to say something about how the public perceives that brand. Let's hope the new CEO can turn this around, because the challenge appears pretty huge.