Report on Busch Gardens, Water Country Attendance Released

Saturday, June 18, 2011

The Themed Entertainment Association in conjunction with AECOM released the 2010 Global Attractions Attendance Report Friday, and attendance at the two Triangle parks appears to be a mixed bag.

TEA data shows a steady decline in visitors over four years (read the report here). The current report estimates that Busch Gardens Europe had 2.8 million visitors in 2010, a 3.4 percent drop over 2009. In 2009, the report pegged park attendance at 2.9 million, in 2008 they had an estimated 3.1 million visitors, and in 2007 the number was 3.2 million.

In 2010, the TEA report shows Busch Gardens Europe had the third largest percentage drop in visitors in 2010 out of the top 20 amusement parks in the North America, behind SeaWorld in San Diego and SeaWorld in Orlando.

Water Country USA, in contrast, improved visitation in 2010, along with many other parks in the country. Water Country was up 12 percent, with visitation at 784,000, according to the report. This was its best year since 2007. In 2009, the report estimated the park had 700,000 visitors, down from 758,000 in 2008 and 773,000 in 2007.

Water Country had the sixth largest percentage increase in visitation among the top 20 water parks in the country, according to the report.

A spokesman for both local parks had no comment on the report, and traditionally the parks don’t share their attendance numbers.

“The 2010 TEA/AECOM Theme Index reveals an average attendance increase of 1.8 percent in North American [amusement] parks, with many sectors at or close to prerecession levels,” John Robinett, senior vice president for Economics at AECOM, said in the report.

“The major players saw mixed results, but the trend was generally positive…Both residents and tourists are coming back to the parks.”

As for water parks, “Attendance at the top five declined somewhat, but overall attendance at the top 20 was up by nearly one million visitors,” according to Brian Sands, AICP vice president of Economics at AECOM. Much of that increase was due to a full year of operation at a new water park in Arizona, he said.

According to Chris Canavos, former president of the Williamsburg Hotel Motel Association and owner of Country Inn and Suites on Pocahontas Trail, demand has dropped for his property, and he believes some of the drop has to do with decreased visitation to the two parks over the years.

Canavos’ property is relatively close to the two parks. When asked if this lower occupancy in 2010 might be related to lower attendance at Busch Gardens, he said, “Yes, given our location, our guests are the Busch Gardens customer, especially June, July and August. We do 65 percent of our business during the summer season.

“Ten years ago our customer, during the summer months, stayed longer and thus toured Busch, CW and Jamestown. However, now our guest stay is shorter and they mainly visit Busch Gardens and Water Country during the peak business period.”