Well, despite the terrible economic conditions in the U.S. and Florida, one Central Florida company is raking it in. Ever since the opening last June of the popular Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal Orlando has been seeing record attendance numbers. Just the first quarter of this year (January thru March) Universal Orlando saw an increase of 1.1 million visitors (combined total of Universal Studios and Universal’s Island of Adventures). And, those visitors are buying plenty of souvenirs as well – merchandise sales skyrocketed to 156%! Food and beverage sales are up 104% and ticket sales up 85%. Universal’s total revenue nearly doubled for the quarter….to $309 million.
This is great news for the Central Florida tourist industry, but I do wonder if there is also an increase in International tourism, or if it’s mostly U.S. tourists…most people I know are reeling from the bad economy, and not spending unnecessarily. But, I also know the Harry Potter fans are a die-hard group, so they may have been saving for this. What do you think?
