ORLANDO, Fla. — Last yr marked a return to regular for the theme park business around the globe with operators reporting revenues, and in some instances attendance, at par or above pre-pandemic ranges, in keeping with a brand new report.
Globally, the theme park business hit a peak in 2019, the yr earlier than the unfold of the COVID-19 virus pressured many parks and points of interest to close down quickly after which reopen with restrictions on attendance.
Many operators targeted on bettering customer experiences by adapting app-based applied sciences and that paid off with revenues in 2022 that surpassed 2019 ranges, even when attendance had not bounced again in the identical manner, in keeping with the report launched Wednesday by the Themed Entertainment Association and AECOM, the design and engineering agency.
“The pandemic revealed a sophisticated consumer base that is willing to pay more for out of home entertainment and experiences. However, consumers also demand more in terms of comfort, ease, quality, and satisfaction,” the report stated. “Overall tolerance for big crowds and long waits seems to have gone down.”
The theme parks additionally discovered methods so as to add days for profitable particular occasions that attracted native guests corresponding to Halloween celebrations at Universal, Six Flags and Cedar Fair parks. In Orlando, Florida, the theme park capital of the U.S., attendance was pushed by home guests moderately than worldwide vacationers, a section that was harm by journey restrictions in the course of the peak of the pandemic response. The new Super Nintendo World buoyed attendance for Universal Studios Japan, the report stated.
The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World outdoors Orlando was probably the most visited park final yr with greater than 17.1 million friends, a rise by greater than a 3rd over 2021 numbers however nonetheless down from the 20.9 million guests in 2019.
Rounding out the highest 5 most attended theme parks had been: Disneyland in Anaheim, California, which had 16.8 million guests, nearly double the attendance in 2021 however nonetheless beneath the 18.6 million guests in 2019; Tokyo Disneyland with 12 million guests, near double the numbers from the earlier yr however nonetheless solely about two-thirds of 2019’s attendance; Tokyo DisneySea with 10,1 million guests, a three-quarters soar from 2021 however nonetheless down two-thirds from 2019; and Universal Studios Japan with 12.3 million guests, which was greater than doubled the attendance from 2021 however nonetheless lagging the 14.5 million guests in 2019.
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