RESEARCH
The TEA / AECOM Global Parks Report
A
s many countries begin to emerge from troubled economic times, the theme park industry appears to have held its own through
2009. The latest TEA/AECOM Attraction Attendance Report reveals a relatively stable position among the world’s most popular attractions in 2009, with the top 25 global parks attracting 185 million com- pared to 188 million in 2008. As consumers cut back, many coun- tries saw increases in domestic tourism, or
‘staycations’, at the expense of overseas trips. This benefi ted many large regional parks, particularly in Europe, but proved challenging for some destination parks.
THE MOST POPULAR PARKS The most startling feature of the worldwide list is how dominant the Mouse remains. Almost 61 per cent of the visits to the top 25 parks were to a Disney park. And the original remains the most popular. The four that came top are all versions of Disneyland while Disney parks occupy nine out of the top ten positions. It’s been more challenging for Disney to
hit the same heights with its second-gate attraction in Paris – Walt Disney Studios – or the relatively modest version in Hong Kong, but in terms of major parks opera- tors, Disney remains dominant.
The power of brands is evident in the list
of these leading parks (see table below). Disney, Universal and Sea World control 17 of the top 25 parks, with a massive 80 per cent of total admissions. Within the list, half of the top parks are in
the US and a third are in Asia. Europe has only four parks in the top 25.
NORTH AMERICAN THEME PARKS North America is still the dominant theme park market in the world. The total attend- ance at the top 20 North American parks in 2009 was 121 million, a stable fi gure com- pared to 2008 and a signifi cant volume. The market is dominated by the Florida and California parks. The top 13 parks are all located in these two states and these parks account for 84 per cent of admis- sions to the top attractions.
Despite 2009’s economic climate, some operators increased their profi ts and had record numbers, as AECOM Economics’ David Camp reveals
While 2009 was a fl at year for North
American parks overall, it was a mixed bag for the different operators. Disney led the way in attendance, with signifi cant increases at its West Coast parks and slight gains in Orlando. However, Busch Gardens, Seaworld and most of the larger parks at Universal experienced declines.
ASIAN THEME PARKS Attendances at the top 10-15 theme parks in Asia fell by an average of 3.5 per cent in 2009, due to the global fi nancial slowdown, the recession, outbreaks of the H1N1 virus and poor weather in some markets. However, a number of new parks are planned in the region, so the expectation is that Asia will rebound quickly from the slowdown and become the main growth engine for the industry, led by China.
Top 25 Amusement Parks/Theme Parks Worldwide (2009) RANK PARK AND LOCATION 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida Disneyland, Anaheim, Calfornia,USA Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo, Japan
Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris, Marne-La-Vallée, France Tokyo DisneySea, Tokyo, Japan
Epcot at Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA
Disney's Hollywood StudIos at Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA Universal Studios Japan, Osaka, Japan
Islands of Adventure Universal Orlando
TOP 10 PARKS PARK AND LOCATION North America Asia
Europe Total
2009 ATTENDANCE 89,518,000 65,361,000 41,165,000 196,044,000
% CHANGE -0.1% -3.6% 2.8% -0.7%
Note: attendance fi gures are estimates, based on company information, annual reports, published information and from reliable TEA/ AECOM industry and tourism sources. Source: TEA and AECOM
24
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Total
Disney's California Adventure, Anaheim, California, USA Everland, Gyeonggi-Do, South Korea Seaworld Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA
Universal Studios at Universal Orlando, Orlando, Florida, USA Ocean Park, Hong Kong SAR
Nagashima Spa Land, Kuwana, Japan Hong Kong Disneyland, Hong Kong SAR
Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise, Yokohama, Japan Islands Of Adventure at Universal Orlando, Orlando, Florida, USA Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal City, California, USA Lotte World, Seoul, South Korea Europa-Park, Rust, Germany
Seaworld California, San Diego, California, USA Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay, Florida, USA De Efteling, Kaatsheuvel, Netherlands Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark
2009 ATTENDANCE % CHANGE 17,233,000 15,900,000 13,646,000 12,740,000 12,004,000 10,990,000 9,700,000 9,590,000 8,000,000 6,095,000 6,050,000 5,800,000 5,402,000 4,800,000 4,700,000 4,600,000 4,500,000 4,499,000 4,308,000 4,261,000 4,250,000 4,200,000 4,100,000 4,000,000 3,870,000
185,238,000
Note: attendance fi gures are estimates, based on company information, annual reports, published information and from reliable TEA/AECOM industry and tourism sources. Percent changes for 2009 for certain parks are based on adjusted/updated fi gures for 2008, thus not directly comparable to published TEA-AECOM list for 2008/07. Source: TEA and AECOM
Read Attractions Management online
attractionsmanagement.com/digital AM 3 2010 ©cybertrek 2010
1.0% 8.0% -4.5% 0.4% -4.0% 0.5% 1.0% 0.5% -3.6% 9.5% -8.3% -6.8% -12.0% -4.6% 1.1% 2.0% -0.7%
-13.8% -6.0% 0.6% 6.3%
-12.6% -12.3% 25.0% -2.6% -1.3%
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