Report: Visits to attractions will slow
Projected year-overyear attraction visitation is expected to grow by 1.5 percent, according to PGAV Destinations’ second Voice of the Visitor: 2017 Annual Outlook on the Attractions Industry.
In 2016, growth was projected at 3 percent.
“Destination guests have become more particular and critical of their travel needs, and consumer confidence has been greatly impacted by an economically, politically and culturally tumultuous 2016,” the report said.
The report also said that “due to last year’s political ecosystem, nearly a third (30 percent) of our respondents noted that they delayed long-haul trips (and) 20 percent delayed overseas trips.”
PGAV Destinations is a destination planning and design firm with clients that include SeaWorld.
Its report covered zoos, theaters, aquariums and family entertainment centers as well as theme and water parks.
Other interesting from the report:
40 percent of attraction visitors in 2016 were passholders — up from 37 percent last year.
Nearly half of all people visiting attractions went to one less than 50 miles from home in 2016. In 2015, 56 percent visited an attraction close to home.
86 percent of visitors brought smartphones with them, but 59 percent didn’t bother downloading attractions’ apps.
Millennials “significantly increased” attraction visitation in 2016. They made up a third of visitors in 2015 and 42 percent last year. They tidbits and Baby Boomers were most likely to be repeat visitors, with more than 60 percent of both generations saying they had visited their last local attraction before.
Conducted in conjunction with H2R Market Research and global media partner Blooloop,
presents the results of a study of more than 1,500 U.S. people who either visited an attraction in 2016 or might do so this year.
Club 33, a legendary private lounge at Disneyland, is coming to Walt Disney World, a company spokeswoman confirmed Thursday.
Versions of Club 33 will be installed at each Disney World theme park — Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom — this fall.
There are no further details from Disney about the establishments, including their exact locations in the parks or the cost to join the “limited membership” club.
The original Club 33 opened at Disneyland park in 1967. The company says that Walt Disney drew inspiration from the executive lounges at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. There were corporate and individual memberships.
Various sources list membership fees for Disneyland’s Club 33 in the thousands of dollars per year. Last year, the Los Angeles Times reported that the club’s annual dues were “said to be $12,000 a year,” which entitles members to park admission, exclusive benefits and access to the only alcohol regularly served at Disneyland. Travel + Leisure magazine says that’s on top of a $25,000 entrance fee.
There are also Club 33 venues at Tokyo Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland, which opened last summer.
Kissimmee-based Orange Lake Resorts has begun construction of a new five-story Signature Collection building and pool at its Holiday Inn Club Vacations Cape Canaveral Beach Resort.
The Holiday Inn Club Vacations Signature Collection portfolio villas feature luxury accommodations. Construction is expected to be completed by summer 2018.
“Cape Canaveral Beach Resort is one of our most popular beachside resorts,” said Tom Nelson, President of Orange Lake Resorts, in a news release. “In the past year, we have expanded our Signature Collection portfolio with new buildings at our Smoky Mountain Resort in Branson, Mo.; South Beach Resort in Myrtle Beach, S.C.; and Galveston Beach Resort in Galveston, Texas. Adding Signature Collection accommodations at Cape Canaveral Beach Resort expands our top luxury product offering to nine locations for our members to experience with their families.”
The expansion adds eight four-bedroom villas at 2,212 square feet and 34 two-bedroom villas at 1,100 square feet.
The project also features a new pool area on the west side of the building. With the addition of the 42 Signature Collection villas, Cape Canaveral Resort will grow to 193 total villas.