WELLINGTON: Ardent Leisure has reported a 63 percent slump in revenue at its Dreamworld and Whitewater World theme parks on the Gold Coast since they reopened after a fatal accident. Four visitors to the park – New Zealander Cindy Low, Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett and his partner Roozbeh Araghi – were killed on 25 October when two rafts collided on the Thunder River Rapids near a large conveyor belt at the end of the ride. It prompted both theme parks to be shut pending investigations and safety checks.
The parks reopened on Saturday 10 December, but Ardent Leisure has reported a 63 percent drop in revenue between then and the end of last year, compared to the same period a year earlier. The parks’ operator said revenues of $3.66 million compared to $9.89m at the same time last year. Ardent said while all of Whitewater World’s rides were open, some of Dreamworld’s signature rides remained closed and that negatively affected attendance and revenues. The company said the remaining rides that were closed, including the Tower of Terror II and Giant Drop, would be reopened by the end of the month. Thunder River Rapids has been permanently closed. Despite the tragedy, Ardent said guest sentiment had been “very positive” since reopening. Ardent Leisure shares were down 2.2 percent to $AUS2.19 on Monday morning.
