A few days after the announcement of the opening of Warner Bros World Abu Dhabi in July 2018, La Compagnie des Alpes reviews the activity of its ski resorts and amusement parks in the first half of 2017/2018.
La Compagnie des Alpes revenues amounted to €491.2 million in the first half (+7.1%), of which €372.1 million for the Ski Resorts, an increase of +2.8%.
After a first quarter disrupted by the division of the Christmas school holiday calendar, activity for the Ski Resorts recorded growth of +4.7% in the second quarter. This season was characterized by a strong snow cover of all the massifs which generated a distribution of activity more favourable to the medium altitude resorts.
The activity for Leisure Destinations was strong in the first half (+7.7%) at 93.8 million euros. Attendance continued to grow (+1.7%) and hotel activity increased, thanks in particular to the opening of 50 additional rooms and the new seminar capacity of the Hôtel des 3 Hiboux at Parc Astérix. After a dynamic first quarter, activity in the second quarter remained sustained, enabling compensation to be made for the closure of Aqualibi in Belgium for renovation.
At present, the Holdings and Support activity includes consulting activities (CDA Management and CDA Beijing), online distribution, real estate agencies and Travelfactory. During the first half of the year, its revenues amounted to 25.3 million euros. Consulting activities continued to grow, particularly due to service contracts with the Jardin d'Acclimatation.
On the other hand, La Compagnie des Alpes has decided not to continue operating the Grévin sites in Seoul and Prague. These decisions will result in an improvement in net income of approximately 6 million euros.
For the third quarter, Ski Resorts activity slowed due to an unfavourable positioning of school holidays and strikes in transport. Taking these factors into account, La Compagnie des Alpes estimates total revenue growth of close to 2%.
For more information about European amusement parks, find our infography below as well as our report.
Concerning Leisure Destinations, Parc Astérix is finalizing the second of the three phases of its hotel project with the opening of the theme hotel La Cité Suspendue (150 rooms) which will double the current capacity.
In Belgium, Walibi Park is also starting its transformation with a new Exotic World zone where Polynesia is in the spotlight while Aqualibi has been densified with the addition of an extension for the youngest. In addition, Walibi Rhône-Alpes continues to change with the redesign of its reception area and the creation of a new area called Festival City.
The amusement park business is booming. Noted that the universe of the emblematic Japanese animation studio Ghibli, co-founded by director Hayao Miyazaki, could come to life in a Japanese amusement park (scheduled to open in 2022).
