People are mentioning the cost of living crisis, but it’s worth remembering that in previous downturns, Alton and other UK parks actually did very well.
During the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath, the park had a boom in attendance that culminated with Thirteen in 2010 bringing in 3 million. There was a recession in the early 90s, and during this time, the park was starting to build its modern day reputation and had some of its highest years ever. Domestic tourism often does very well during recessions, as people who might have spent big on a foreign holiday often travel domestically instead.
I don’t mean for this to sound tone-deaf to goings on, and I apologise if it does, but I also debate that the cost of living crisis is affecting as many people as is claimed to such a drastic degree that they’re “having to choose between eating and heating”. I don’t deny that some people are in this situation and are really struggling, but I struggle to believe that “a third of the population” is in financial straits this dire. Perhaps it’s just the circles I socialise in, but it doesn’t seem like many (or dare I say any) people I know are drastically tightening their belts or struggling to this degree.
I dare say that some of the people in financial straits so dire that they’re “having to choose between eating and heating” may have been unable to afford a trip to Alton even before the cost of living crisis started; it’s always been an activity that requires a certain level of financial privilege to afford.
Also, the cost of living crisis has been rattling on since at least 2022, and I don’t remember attendance seeming this low (or at least, I don’t remember Merlin tightening belts nearly this much) in 2022. So if the cost of living crisis was deterring everyone from going, wouldn’t we have seen this low period start earlier?
I hate giving anecdotal evidence, as I'm sure you're aware, but here's a little insight.
- My energy bill increased in August 2023 from £72.64 to £139.42. I'm paying, today, £144.38 per month.
- My rent, without giving too much away, is 45% of my monthly income and has increased by 20% in the past year.
- My phone and broadband bill increased by 25% in April 2023.
- My water bill increased by 5% last year, and will receive another 7.2% hike this year.
- My salary hasn't seen an increase since 2021.
The cost of living crisis may have stared in 2022, but people don't feel the pinch immediately. I certainly didn't, because I was locked into rather decent fixed priced contracts for my utilities. You'll note that those are the only examples I've given above, because it's the only spend we can control for across all groups.
In other periods of economic depression it's true that Merlin / Tussaud's performed well, but that was in line with industry trends. The leisure and tourism industry as a whole is getting an absolute kicking. People have changed their spending habits. I can only presume that COVID initiated it, Cost of Living compounded it and enough time has passed now for new habits to become entrenched.
As
@rob666 has often pointed out, Alton Towers used to attract dozens of coach trips every single day. Not from schools, but from communities, and groups, and friends. It wasn't uncommon for a local pub to organise a coach trip for their patrons to go to Alton Towers for the day. It wasn't uncommon for 18 Plus (now just Plus), or other groups for socialisation which don't exist any more, to book trips. When you pool resources for travel, and buy tickets in bulk, it becomes more affordable. The groups / unions which used to organise this sort of activity have slowly diminished over the decades, as we've shifted from society to individualism.
Also, the majority of the adult population in this country does either drive or know someone that does, so it might not be that big of a priority for a lot of people who visit Alton.
According to the National Travel Survey in 2022, 75% of people over 17 are full driving license holders and 78% of households own at least one car:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-travel-survey-2022/national-travel-survey-2022-factsheet-accessible#:~:text=Licence holding,-Chart 11: Proportion&text=In 2022, 75% of English,points in the same period.
When you take into account that many of the 25% who don’t drive or the 22% of households who don’t own a car could have links to someone who does drive, I don’t think Alton’s public transport provision is majorly hampering it, personally. As much as I’d like Alton to have better public transport links, I don’t think the majority of people likely to visit would particularly care.
It ought to be noted that your source doesn't distinguish between full and provisional driving licences. I have held a provisional licence for the best part of two decades, but I cannot drive (really, you don't want me to, I'd do everything in 3rd gear and can only turn left). If you were to control for ages, and type of licence, and car ownership, I think the numbers would tell a different story. A provisional licence is one of the cheapest forms of ID / proof of age there is, and it's not as cumbersome to take it out as a passport.
Equally I believe the definition of household is also a bit skewed, as HMOs technically count as one household for the purposes of the study, but in reality they are individual homes by any other definition. Often you will have 5-10 professionals living in the same building and sharing some utilities, but who don't know each other, or wouldn't consider themselves a unit. You also need to control for the increase of younger people staying at home with their parents, until later in life. On your original point, they're doing this to shield themselves from being unable to afford to love independently. On your second point, although their household has access to a car, it's unlikely that they'd be able to take it and use it whenever they'd like, introducing a point of complication. The study also doesn't discriminate against those who own multiple homes, whilst owning the same car. It's possible it might be negligible, but it's not as clear cut as it seems.
TLDR:
- Cost of Living
- Weather
- Downward industry trends
- Change of social habits
- Transportation issues
- Lack of significant new* / original* investment for 8 years
Each of these issues will be a factor, some will be more relevant to individuals than others.
