SeaWorld park attendance down 6% in first half of 2013

Attendance at SeaWorld parks across the country has dropped 6% in the first half of the year, but is the decline due to bad publicity or bad weather?

SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. has endured some harsh publicity lately with the debut this summer of “Blackfish,” a documentary about the mistreatment of orca whales in captivity, particularly at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida.

In its latest financial report, SeaWorld Entertainment reported attendance of 10.1 million in its 11 parks in the first half of the year, down from 10.7 million in the same period in 2012.

Overall revenue for the first six months of the year grew 2% but the company reported a net loss of $56.2 million, or 66 cents a share, for the period.

Still, representatives for the Orlando company reject suggestions that the movie has played a role in the attendance drop, and say they are not cutting admission prices because of the attendance dive.

“We are not slashing prices, period,” Fred Jacobs, vice president of communications for SeaWorld, said in an email. “‘Blackfish’ has had no attendance impact.”

At SeaWorld San Diego, the park is offering children (ages 3 to 9) free admission with a paying adult throughout October as part of a citywide promotion supported by about 100 other businesses, including the San Diego Zoo.

Other discounts recently offered, park officials say, are part of a typical theme park effort to increase attendance during the slower fall tourist season.

SeaWorld blames the drop in attendance earlier this year to bad weather at SeaWorld parks in Florida and Virginia and the timing of Easter, which fell on March 31, overlapping with spring break for many college students.

“Our guest satisfaction surveys continue to show a very high degree of satisfaction with the experience in all 11 of our parks,” SeaWorld spokeswoman Becca Bides said.

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