Visitor numbers up for Alton Towers owner
Alton Towers owner Merlin Entertainments saw visitor numbers to its attractions, which also include Madame Tussauds, rise 6.2 per cent to 29.7 million in the first six months of this year.
Revenue was also ahead by 19.4 per cent to £685 million, but pre-tax profit was flat at £50m.
Chief executive Nick Varney said there had been growth in both its existing estate and new sites including a Legoland park in Japan which had already welcomed more than half a million visitors since it opened at the start of April.
"We continue to be excited by the long term underlying growth prospects in our market and have the strategy in place to exploit these. We remain on track to meet our 2020 milestone targets, supported not only by the attractions and accommodation opened to date, but also by the progress we have made on the pipeline, in particular the ongoing development of new brands which will underpin the longer term roll out," he added.
Resort theme parks, including Staffordshire's Alton Towers, Warwick Castle and Thorpe Park, saw revenue grow by 12.7 per cent.
A new 76-room CBeebies Hotel opened at Alton Towers on July 8.
