While the French leisure budget is down 8% on 2013, amusement parks are still full. This positive trend is reflected in record attendance figures and massive investment in the many European parks. New attractions, new restaurants and new hotels are all part of the drive to attract ever more visitors. Once a place for day trips, amusement parks are now doing everything they can to become true resorts. Here we take a look at the evolution of these places dedicated to fun, which are sparing no expense to become tourist destinations in their own right.
Unabated attendance
The health crisis now seems a long way behind us, given the performance of Disney's Theme Parks and Experiences division. Indeed, the American group has recorded an increase in sales of around 13% in the last quarter of 2023 compared with 2022.
Operating income from international activities has risen by more than 100%, thanks to increased attendance at the Shanghai and Hong Kong parks. The latter recently welcomed its 100 millionth visitor, marking a major milestone for the park, which opened in 2005.
Kevin Lansberry, acting CFO of Walt Disney, says that bookings for the group's parks remain strong despite the inflationary environment, both domestically and internationally. This is confirmed by the figures for Disneyland Paris, which has welcomed 9.9 million visitors in 2022, a jump of 184% compared to 2021. The Paris park thus retains its leading position in the rankings of Europe's busiest amusement parks.
Conducted by The Themed Entertainment Association, the ranking reveals that Europa Park is in second place with 5.4 million visitors in 2022, an increase of 80% on the previous year. The Dutch park Efteling closes the podium with just under 5.4 million visitors in 2022, an increase of 65% on 2021.
Parc Astérix is in 9th place, with a record number of visitors in 2022. The Gaulish park attracted 2.6 million visitors that year, an increase of 102% on the previous year. This trend will continue in 2023, with a new record of 2.8 million visitors. The summer season and the Halloween and Christmas periods were the highlights of this extraordinary season.
We are delighted with the response from visitors to the 2023 season, which is a very positive response to our investment strategy for the Toutatis Festival. This €36 million investment is the biggest since the creation of Parc Astérix...
United-States
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