Dubai Parks and Resorts reports 20% drop in Q3 visits

Theme park destination Dubai Parks and Resorts posted a drop of nearly 20 per cent in visits in the third quarter of the year due to a drop in visitation from residents.

Dubai Parks recorded 401,000 visits in Q3, compared to 501,000 for the same period last year.

“The decline was primarily due to a reduction in visitation from the resident market which is not unusual for a destination such as Dubai Parks and Resorts in its second full year of operations,” a statement said.

Overall, the destination recorded over 1.8 million visits during the first nine months of 2019, down 8 per cent compared to 1.96 million visits during the same period in 2018.

Over 42 per cent of the 1.8 million visits came from international markets, compared to 40 per cent during the same period in the prior year.

The destination’s Lapita Hotel maintained its average occupancy at 60 per cent in the first nine months of 2019.

Mohamed Almulla, CEO and Managing Director, DXB Entertainments, said: “We are progressing with our strategy of shifting the visitor mix in favour of more international visitors with 42 per cent of visits now coming from international markets.

“We continue to receive positive feedback for our key assets. Looking ahead, we are gearing up for a busy fourth quarter, with a variety of activities and events planned for the last months of the year.”

Dubai Parks, which comprises Bollywood, Hollywood and Legoland theme parks, recorded close to 2.8 million visits in 2018, an increase of 22 per cent compared to the previous year.

Read: Dubai Parks and Resorts records almost 2.8 million visits in 2018

In April, the company announced that it will no longer be going forward with the Six Flags theme park project in Dubai since the project was not in its “best interests”.

The planned Six Flags theme park was expected to feature the world’s biggest rollercoaster among its 27 rides and attractions.

Construction began in July 2016, with expectations of a 2019 opening.

However, it was put on hold earlier this year since the financing for the project was no longer available.

Read more: Six Flags Dubai theme park put on hold as funding withdrawn

Dubai Parks, which opened in 2017, targeted 6.7 million visitors in its first year, but only drew in 2.3 million.

With an estimated development cost of Dhs13.2bn for Dubai Parks, DXB Entertainment reached a deal with creditors to restructure $1.14bn of debt in March last year.