TEA ERA 3/26/07 4:21 PM Page XV
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TOP 10 THEMED ATTRACTION CHAINS WORLDWIDE (2006)
attractions in Europe, and in 2006
5. ANHEUSER-BUSCH THEME PARKS
acquired Italy’s Gardaland. Merlin’s
Estimated 2006 Attendance: 21.7 million
properties have grown from 12.2
- ADVENTURE ISLAND, Tampa, Florida
- BUSCH GARDENS WILLIAMSBURG, Williamsburg, Virginia
million to 16 million in attendance on
- BUSCH GARDENS TAMPA BAY, Tampa Bay, Florida
a chain basis [and with their £1.03
- DISCOVERY COVE, Orlando, Florida
- SEAWORLD CALIFORNIA, San Diego, California billion ($1.98 billion) acquisition in
- SEAWORLD FLORIDA, Orlando, Florida
March 2007 of the Tussauds Group,
- SEAWORLD TEXAS, San Antonio, Texas
- SESAME PLACE, Langhorne, Pennsylvania the combined attendance for the
- WATER COUNTRY USA, Williamsburg, Virginia
group will be more than 30 million,
6. MERLIN ENTERTAINMENTS/LEGOLAND PARKS
elevating the group to the second
Estimated 2006 Attendance: 16.0 million
spot on the Top 10 chart just behind
-LEGOLAND Billund, Denmark
Disney].
-LEGOLAND Windsor, England
-LEGOLAND California, Carlsbad, California, USA
-LEGOLAND Germany, Gunzburg, Germany
Consolidation in the US is still going
-Gardaland, Castelnuovo del Garda, Italy
on, though the overall cycle is further
-23 Sealife Centers (UK, Germany, Finland, France, Spain, Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium), 3 Marine
Sanctuaries (UK), Mobile Aquariums -5 Dungeons Visitor Attractions UK, Scotland, Germany, Netherlands),
along than in Europe. For the most
1 Earth Explorer (Belgium)
part, consolidation of parks in the US
7. THE TUSSAUDS GROUP
has resulted in positive attendance
Estimated 2006 Attendance: 14.3 million
numbers. Universal parks (now
-ALTON TOWERS, Straffordshire, England
owned by GE and Blackstone) are up
-CHESSINGTON WORLD OF ADVENTURES, Burough of Kingston, England
1.2% as a chain. Cedar Fair is down
-THORPE PARK, Chertsey, Surrey, England
-HEIDE PARK, Soltau, Germany
0.6%, but this figure is to its credit:
-THE LONDON EYE, London, England
this major successful operator, that
-5 Other Attractions/Various Locations (UK, Holland, US)
began years ago as the lone Cedar
8. GREVIN & CIE
Point, absorbed the Paramount Parks
Estimated 2006 Attendance: 10.0 million
chain in midyear. (Viacom sold the
-21 parks - 6 countries (France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, United Kingdom) properties but has retained rights to
-PARC ASTERIX, Plailly, France
-PARC BAGATELLE, Rang du Fliers, France
continue to use the Paramount Parks
-WALIBI BELGIUM, Wavre, Belgium name.) “Cedar Fair does most things
-BELLEWAERDE PARK, Leper, Belgium
-WALIBI WORLD, Biddinghuizen, Holland
right,” observed Robinett. “The
-WALIBI RHONE ALPES, Les Aveniers, France integration seems to be going well
-WALIBI AQUITAINE, Rocquefort, France
-FORT FUN ABENTEUERLAND, Bestwig/Sauerland, Germany
and there’s a very strong manage-
-HELLENDOORN AVONTURENPARK, Hellendoorn, Holland ment team in place. You’ve got an
-GRAND AQUARIUM DE SAINT MALO, Saint Malo, France
-PANORAMA PARK SAUERLAND, Oberhundem, Germany
operator that understands the
-NEW PLEASURELAND HILLS LEISURE PARK, Suffolk, England business, and reinvests consistently.”
-BIOSCOPE, Ungersheim, France
-FRANCE MINIATURE, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France
SEC filings and management numbers
-GREVIN, Paris, France show the Six Flags chain down 14%
-MINI-CHATEAUX, Amboise, France
-AQUAPARC, Le Bouveret, Switzerland
from 2005, but this may well turn
-LE MER DE SABLE, Ermenonville, France around based on the new owners’
-PLANETE SAUVAGE, Port Saint Pere, France
-DOLFINARIUM, Hardenwijk, Holland
improvements as noted above.
-AQUARIUM DU VAL DE LOIRE, Lussault sur Loire, France
In total, according to ERA, the 2006
9. PARQUES REUNIDOS
worldwide indicators for the industry
Estimated 2006 Attendance: 9.2 million
look good with 2.2% growth overall in
-22 parks (theme-amusement parks, nature and wildlife, water and cable railway) across Spain, Belgium,
Norway,France and Italy, and outside Europe,in Argentina comparison to the previous year.
-PARQUE DE ATRACCIONES, Madrid, Spain
Looking ahead, some of the things to
-BOBBEJAANLAND, Belgium
-BO SOMMARLAND, Norway watch for will be the evolution of the
-MIRABILANDIA, Italy
investment/consolidation cycle
-MARINELAND, Antibes, France
-WATER PARKS, Spain especially in Europe and Asia,
-SELWO/VALWO PARKS, Spain
upgrading and expansion of existing
-ZOO MADRID, Madrid, Spain
-MAR DEL PLATA AQUARIUM, Argentina parks in North America, the continu-
-CABLE CARS, Spain
ing trend to indoor facilities (urban
10. EVERLAND
locations) and destination resort
Estimated 2006 Attendance: 8.9 million
development, and the inexhaustible
-EVERLAND, Kyongii-Do, South Korea
capacity of this industry to reach new
-CARIBBEAN BAY, Kyongii-Do, South Korea
heights of creativity and invention.
Source: TEA and Economics Research Associates (ERA)
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APRIL 2007 © 2007 TEA and ERA XV