SeaWorld Entertainment saw a 7.6 drop in attendance for the second quarter, largely due to a decline in Orlando tourism.
SeaWorld Entertainment President and Chief Executive Officer Joel Manby said, “We have a Florida problem, not a SeaWorld Orlando problem.”
The Central Florida area has seen a drastic decrease in tourists from Brazil in recent months due to the political and economic turmoil the region is experiencing. The Latin America tourism market has dropped 40 percent for the first half of 2016. Bob Boyd, Pacific Asset Management analyst, said of the decline, “We have seen that in many different anecdotal-type sources. Orlando is soft compared to consecutive, very strong years.”
George Aguel, president and CEO of Visit Orlando, said of the Brazilian tourists, “But even though they do not represent a significant percentage of our overall visitation, they do generate a higher level of spending and length of stay, which could be impactful.”
Boyd said there was increased attendance at the SeaWorld parks in California and Texas, so there are some positives to be seen. He added, “The big question mark is, ‘When does the business stabilize?’”
Of Florida tourism, Aguel said, “Although we have been seeing a softening of demand, overall the destination still remains healthy. Our occupancy rates were down slightly from the first half of the year, but are still higher than both the state and national averages.”
SeaWorld reported their adjusted net income as $18 million; last year, this came in at $18.7 million. Revenue was reported at $371.1 million, down $20.5 million from the same time last year. Stock prices were down 13 percent to $12.88.
News source/photo credit: Orlando Sentinel
