Leading Australian theme park operator Village Roadshow says the entire industry on the Gold Coast is feeling the effects of falling interest after last month’s tragedy at rival park Dreamworld.
Village Roadshow operates the Sea World, Warner Bros Movie World and Wet’n’Wild theme parks on the Gold Coast, as well as Wet’n’Wild in Sydney.
"We have seen inconsistent trading following the tragic incident at Dreamworld in October," co-chairman Robert Kirby said at an investor meeting.
"However, we are hesitant to extrapolate any trends from trading to date, given limited information at this time."
"We do believe it will take time for the community and the marketplace to fully recover from the tragedy," he added.
Kirby remained upbeat for the region’s long term fortunes.
"Southeast Queensland is becoming increasingly popular, especially for Chinese tourists, and with flights being continually added to the region, we expect this to be the start of a substantial tourism growth curve."
Village Roadshow’s share price has plunged about 10% since the tragedy.
Dreamworld parent Ardent Leisure has understandably suffered even more, with about a quarter of its value wiped out since the deadly crash.
The park still remains closed with no opening date yet confirmed.
