SeaWorld CEO Says New Rides Should Save the Year
Photo Credit: The Manta roller coaster is shown at SeaWorld Orlando. New rides at SeaWorld parks are expected to bring more visitors and revenue for the rest of this year. SeaWorld Orlando
Skift Take
SeaWorld has been enthusiastic about its strategy to focus more on rides than animals; the rest of the year should show whether that enthusiasm was warranted.
When a theme park company notes flat attendance as a good sign, you know it's been a tough few years.
SeaWorld Entertainment executives seemed to take comfort in the fact that attendance in the first four months of 2017 was basically the same as the year before, given the fact that the number of people attending the company's parks dropped year-over-year in three of the past four years.
"This gives us a solid base from which to grow in 2017 as we introduce our strong lineup of new rides and attractions this summer," CEO Joel Manby said.
The remarks came during the company's first-quarter earnings call — which, of course, includes only the first three months of the year, not four. But because Easter and its associated school breaks fell during April in 2017 as opposed to March of last year, leisure companies have tried to offer a more apples-to-apples comparison that includes the
