Fewer tourists at theme parks due to climate crisis
It often seems that the climate crisis only affects the weather and the environment. Nothing could be further from the truth, however. Various businesses, even the world's largest theme parks, have to struggle with the effects of climate change as well.
The climate crisis affects every aspect of our lives. Even the world's largest amusement park companies are now feeling the effects of extreme weather.
Climate crisis and cultural events
The weekend of 1 to 3 September saw the Burning Man festival in the Northern Nevada desert. The event involves a large number of people meeting in one place every year to take part in an experiment in creating a community. The idea is for the participants to "radically express themselves" and rely on the community they build. The festival name refers to the ritual of burning an effigy on the last Saturday before Labour Day.
On Saturday 2 September, 70,000 people gathered in the Northern Nevada desert and everything went without any problems and the participants were very happy. Trouble came up on Sunday when Burning Man enthusiasts tried to leave the festival grounds. To everyone's surprise, a huge downpour hit the Black Rock desert causing several hundred trucks to get bogged down in the slippery mud created by the rain. People were unable to leave the flooded area.
The unexpected weather conditions caused by the climate change stranded tens of thousands of people in the desert. Festival participants had to rely on help provided by special services, but even them had trouble crossing the Nevada desert.
Extreme weather conditions and theme parks
The world's largest theme parks such as Six Flags, Walt Disney World, SeaWorld, Universal Orlando and Cedar Point have had a very difficult time recently. Fires, windstorms and floods plaguing the United States and Canada meant that the usually tourist-filled venues were often empty this summer.
90% of theme park attractions are located outdoors. The unbearable heat meant that far fewer tourists chose to visit them this year. Admittedly, amusement park owners are trying to adapt to the weather conditions by building new rides indoors, but it may already be too late for that.
2023 Canadian wildfires and extreme heat in California meant that 300,000 fewer people visited Canada's Wonderland in Ontario and Knottโs Berry Farm in California in the last quarter. Attendance at Sea World was down 2% last quarter compared to the same period in 2022.
As we read on edition.cnn.com, Sea World has been hit hard by extreme weather conditions in recent years. These have caused park closures and declining attendance in Florida, Texas and Virginia. In an annual report to investors, Sea World's owners report that climate change could cause them to "incur significant costs".
"The series of extreme weather events experienced in recent years presents an alarming trend. Changing climate conditions could add to the frequency and severity of natural disasters and create additional uncertainty," the annual report reads.
Source: edition.cnn.com
