2008 Attraction Attendance Report released

The 2008 Attraction Attendance Report has been released. The report details the attendance numbers of all the major theme and water parks across the world and attempts to break down what it all means.

The report, prepared by TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) in partnership with ERA (Economics Research Associates) concentrates the bulk of its analysis on the effect the global recession has had on theme park attendance numbers over the course of the year.

First, the top twenty worldwide amusement/theme parks in 2008:

The big takeaway from the report is that "destination" theme parks such as Walt Disney World were hit harder than "regional" theme parks such as Cedar Point. The leading cause of this seems to be regional parks' seasonal operations. Because the recession did not hit full swing until around fall 2008, most regional parks were shielded from the full blow of the recession as they were already closed for the winter season. Destination parks that rely on year-round attendance and longer stays found themselves unprepared for what was to come.

“It is typical of destination parks to be impacted more by a recession than regional parks, because they are located farther away from their markets, and cost more to visit,” states John Robinett, Senior Vice President of ERA. “But it should also be noted that the negative growth didn’t actually occur until the fall. The regional parks were mostly closed by then while year-round destination parks were still open, so they took the fourth-quarter hit.”

Theme parks located in China and greater Asia were largely unaffected by the global recession due to growing populations and economies as well as an expanding middle class. Because the market is not yet saturated as others in North America and Europe seem to be, there is plenty of room for growth.

All-in-all, the report points to the expectation of lower attendance numbers in 2009. “The decline looks as though it will last the majority of 2009 with some possibility of recovery by the end of the year or early 2010,” observes Edward Shaw, ERA Senior Associate.

Those interested in more in-depth reading can hit this link to download the report: 2008 Attraction Attendance Report (PDF; 828 KB)