Attendance at Gold Coast theme parks is down significantly this summer since four people were killed in a tragic accident at Dreamworld in October last year.
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Village Roadshow, the owner of Warner Bros. Movie World, Sea World, Wet'n'Wild, Paradise Country, Australian Outback Spectacular, on Monday told investors that visits by local Queenslanders was down 12 per cent compared to the same period a year before. Lower spending on passes, food and retail are likely to impact Village Roadshow's financial performance, even though it does not own Dreamworld.
Village Roadshow shares were down 8.5 per cent on Monday and trading at around $4.07, down from a closing price of $4.45 on Friday.
According to a statement released to the market on Monday the number of overseas and interstate visitors has remained at the same levels as last summer, but fewer locals are visiting the theme parks.
"Prior to the tragic incident at Dreamworld in October, VIP and Membership sales were broadly in line with expectations and attendance was solid," Village Roadshow said in a statement to shareholders on Monday.
"However, attendance by the local Queensland market which previously represented approximately 60 per cent of attendances, has declined by more than 12 per cent on the prior year since the Dreamworld incident. Wet'n'Wild Sydney appears to have been similarly affected."
"Notwithstanding the minimal impact on ticket sales revenue, the decline in attendance has resulted in deterioration in food and beverage, retail and other in-park revenue. The ongoing impact of the Dreamworld incident will become clearer over the coming weeks.
Dreamworld is owned by Ardent Leisure. On January 6 Ardent Leisure told the market theme park revenues were down 63 per cent since Dreamworld had reopened on December 10.
Shares in Ardent Leisure were down 1.17 per cent on Monday and trading around $2.11. Shares were trading around $2.80 before the accident.
