SeaWorld has reported a decline in attendance to the park and a staggering decrease in profits standing at 84 per cent. This alarming fall has been attributed to the controversial documentary Blackfish, a film that exposed the treatment that captive orcas allegedly face living at the marine park.
The report cites “continued brand challenges” as the cause of a drop in profits from £24million in 2014 to £3.5million in 2015. Attendance dropped by over 100,000 from 6.58 million to 6.48 million, and revenue fell from £260million to £252million.
SeaWorld is seeking to turn things around by creating new exhibits, including a shark exhibition in Orlando and a place where customers can swim with dolphins in a “naturalistic setting” in San Antonio.
It’s been an uphill struggle for the company since the release of Blackfish in 2013. Shares crashed by 33 per cent and SeaWorld forced out its CEO. Staff at the comapny have vehemently denied that Blackfish is accurate, claiming that it’s a witchhunt led by wronged ex-employees and overzealous animal rights campaigners. The company faced a fresh scandal recently when it was acccused of sending an employee to infiltrate animal rights protests.
Read our interview with the director of Blackfish here.
