Terror fear hits Merlin
Theme park visits fall after attacks
VISITOR numbers at top tourist attractions have been dented by the recent terror attacks, according to Merlin Entertainments.
The theme park giant revealed yesterday that the Westminster knife attack in March affected demand from UK day trippers to its sites in the capital, including Madame Tussauds and the London Eye.
And it confirmed the atrocities in Manchester and London in the past month saw “further deterioration in domestic demand”.
It expects overseas visitor numbers to also be down over the summer.
Merlin runs the London Dungeons and owns the Sea Life aquarium brand. In its update it said trading at its other UK attractions had also been hit by the terror attacks and “subsequent tightened security measures”.
Merlin operates Alton Towers, Legoland Windsor and Thorpe Park.
The update triggered a 2.6% fall in Merlin’s share price yesterday which wiped £130million off its stock market valuation.
Boss Nick Varney insisted: “London has bounced back before, and will do again.”
It comes as Merlin battles to rebuild its reputation in the wake of a horrific crash on Alton Towers’ Smiler roller coaster in June 2015.
Two teenage women each lost a leg and 14 others were injured. The company was slapped with a £5m fine last August for the “catastrophic failure” that led to the incident.
Human error was the cause but prosecutors said Merlin was ultimately to blame.